National Canine Cancer Foundation Announces Blood Test for Cancer
The National Canine Cancer Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to eliminating Cancer as a major health issue in dogs, has revealed a blood test that will detect cancer in dogs.
In conjunction with Veterinary Diagnostics Institute (VDI), the blood test, VDITKcanine+, measures two separate parameter’s in a dog’s blood. First, it measures an enzyme called thymidine kinase or TK, which is released into the blood stream by cells affected by unusually rapid division, a sign of cancer. Second, a protein is measured that detects when inflammation is present, which is another characteristic of most cancers. The test is touted as diagnosing cancer most often in its early stages before signs are present.
Prior to this test, dog owners would need to wait for cancer to develop to the point of signs being obvious, such as a lump, or via radiologic procedures.
In terms of accuracy, the test is expressed in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity refers to the proportion of patients that actually have the disease and result in a positive value (i.e., beyond normal limits). Specificity is the patient proportion without the disease that results in negative test values (i.e., normal ranges). The test is touted with a 96 percent sensitivity rate and an 85 percent specificity rate when the result falls into the “positive” category.
VDI-TKcanine+ is a test run by veterinarians and is made available to all veterinarians in the United States.
Veterinary Diagnostics Institute was founded in 2006 and is a privately held company based in southern California. They provide reference laboratory services and in-house diagnostic products. The company’s mission statement is "to provide the highest quality specialty diagnostic services and products for the advancement of care in companion animals.”
For more about the Canine Cancer Foundation, visit http://www.wearethecure.org/.
The official website of VDI Lab is http://vdilab.vdxinstitute.com.
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