Today's standard-of-care therapies that primarily rely on surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are usually ineffective at enabling sustained remission.   Long-term survival is not possible unless the cancer is diagnosed at a very early stage, and even the word "cure" tends not to be used by researchers and oncologists.

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The projects that CCRA support seek true cures, and even reversal of metastasis.  We are not satisfied with research just to produce knowledge.  Hence, our projects focus on bringing new treatments into clinical trials with canine patients so that scientists can gather safety and efficacy data and life-saving treatments can be ultimately approved for broad use - not just remain as an experimental treatment.​

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We are already beginning to see a glimmer of hope with new immunotherapy treatments that activate the animal's own immune system to seek out and attack tumor cells.  Some canine patients have gone into long-term remission.  But not all dogs respond to the therapy.  Why?  And what can we do to help more dogs?  

 

This is the question that researchers we support are tackling.