A brief explanation of early cancer detection in dogs

Andi Flory, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), co-founder and chief medical officer of PetDx, told dvm360 in an interview that early cancer detection is usually thought of as catching cancer in an early stage. However, it could also mean catching the disease before clinical signs are seen. Flory explained what this could mean for the future of veterinary oncology.

The following is a partial transcript of the video.

Andi Flory, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology): When we think about early cancer detection for dogs, we're really talking about 2 different things. A lot of people when they hear early detection, they think early stage detection. And that's absolutely part of what early detection is. That means finding cancer before it's spread. When we find cancer before it's spread, generally, it's going to be easier to treat, it's usually going to be less expensive to treat, it may be less difficult for the patient to go through. And a lot of times it'll have better outcomes when we find it at an early stage of disease. But what early detection also means is finding cancer in some dogs before they're sick. So even before they start to show any signs of disease, we can find cancer before anyone can tell from the outside. [Even] before the family notices that something is wrong.