In my daily hunt for the unfortunate Scotties out there affected with TCC I’ve come across updated research by our American friends. Thankfully they are pursuing TCC with a vengeance and it seems that they are supported by West Highland White Terriers Clubs and Shetland Sheepdog Clubs, both breeds also being susceptible to this dreadful cancer.

Grant title of the ongoing research headed up by Dr Elaine Ostrander PhD, National Humane Genome Research Institution, is  “Fine Mapping of Loci for Transitional Cell Carcinoma in the Scottish Terrier, West Highland White Terrier and Shetland Sheepdog. The goal of this project is to find the gene mutation that is responsible for Transitional Cell Carcinoma in these three higher risk dog breeds.

The long-term goal of their study is to identify the genetic risk factors for TCC in these highly predisposed breeds.

Thus far we have completed whole genome association studies on more than 250 dogs from the three most highly susceptible breeds and have found two regions of the genome that differ between dogs that have and do not have the disease. These regions contain genes that are likely to contribute to TCC development and/or progression.

There are no conclusions at the moment, but if you want to read the progress report of this research, just click 2012

We collectively, (owners, breeders, veterinarians and research scientists) need to put forth our best efforts to identify the causes and to find effective treatments for our dogs. We owe them that.