Abstract
Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is an aggressive and common cancer in dogs. While cutaneous masses are often treatable by tumor excision, visceral tumors are almost always incurable. Treatment advances for this disease have been limited due to a poor understanding of the overall tumor biology. Based upon its histological appearance, HSA has been presumed to originate from transformed endothelial cells; however, accumulating data now suggest a pluripotent bone marrow progenitor as the cell of origin for this disease. More recently, the identification of a novel subclassification of HSAs has provided a foundation to further our understanding of the cellular characteristics of HSA tumor cells, along with those of the cells comprising the tumor microenvironment. These discoveries hold promise for the development of new approaches to improve treatments for canine HSA, as well as to establish the utility of this disease as a spontaneous model to understand the pathogenesis and develop new treatments for vascular tumors of humans. In this review, we will provide a brief historical perspective and pathobiology of canine HSA, along with a focus on the recent advances in the molecular and cellular understanding of these tumors. In addition, future directions that should continue to improve our understanding of HSA pathogenesis will be discussed.
Highlights
Diligent clinical research over the past 50 years has allowed veterinarians to adapt or develop protocols to treat companion animals with cancer, providing pet owners reasonable options ranging from palliative care to therapies with curative intent
We will present a brief history and an overview of the pathobiology of canine HSA, along with a focus on scientific advances in recent research; we will emphasize several discoveries that have improved our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of this disease and that are providing a new foundation for future studies and therapeutic intervention
By the mid-1970s, it was apparent that the incidence of HSA in dogs was 25 to 100 times greater than the incidence of angiosarcoma in humans, and breed predilections for this disease were clearly documented in Europe and in the United
Summary
Diligent clinical research over the past 50 years has allowed veterinarians to adapt or develop protocols to treat companion animals with cancer, providing pet owners reasonable options ranging from palliative care to therapies with curative intent. It could be argued that basic research has lagged behind these clinical advances Issues such as tumor heterogeneity in some of the most common cancers we diagnose have yet to be addressed, and advances to treat highly aggressive tumors such as hemangiosarcoma (HSA) have been modest. It is only recently that these have become areas of emphasis in veterinary cancer research, shifting the focus toward improving our understanding of cancer pathogenesis, developing stratification schemes that can improve prognosis and prediction, and applying the knowledge gained to advance innovations in therapy. We will present a brief history and an overview of the pathobiology of canine HSA, along with a focus on scientific advances in recent research; we will emphasize several discoveries that have improved our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of this disease and that are providing a new foundation for future studies and therapeutic intervention
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