2020

Too many of us continue to lose our loved ones — people and pets — to cancer. We also suffer the long-term consequences of current treatment options or face a diagnosis of a rare cancer that does not have effective treatment possibilities.

Animal Cancer Foundation seeks to improve this situation to benefit both pets and people. We’re focused on closing the gap in funding for comparative oncology research, uniting pet and human research for a cure. Our approach includes the following three science-based funding priorities, coupled with ongoing public-facing awareness and information initiatives:

The National Institutes of Health – National Cancer Institute Budget Request for 2022 is for $7,600,000 + $194M of Cancer Moonshot Funding which expires in 2023 entirely. Comparatively, veterinary oncology research has received a small fraction of funding from the federal government through the NCI or the US Department of Agriculture. Veterinary medicine depends for additional funding on pharmaceutical companies, college veterinary school funding and on various non-profits. In particular the pharmaceutical companies may only be funding narrow studies to confirm the efficacy of a particular product.

Non-profits, like Animal Cancer Foundation, are often the only source that fill the funding gap and support early initiative comparative oncology research that is not limited in scope, allowing scientists to ask “big picture” questions about cancer disease.

A robust, large scale research study in canines, one that would be usable to establish a basis for a new cancer therapeutic under consideration by the Food & Drug Administration, is estimated to cost $250,000 in total.

Because a “gold” standard of treatment may not exist for companion animals, they may be enrolled in a clinical trial without first exhausting all other treatment options.

Compare that to funding a Phase I human clinical trial of a new therapeutic which is estimated to cost $150,000 per person.

Now factor in that the person in a Phase I clinical trial must often have failed all other approved treatments before being enrolled in the trial.

ACF Funded COVID-19 Research Shows Early Promise

Since 2017, Animal Cancer Foundation has been a grant sponsor of Joshua Schiffman, MD, PEELTX’s lead researcher. Dr. Schiffman is also Professor of Pediatrics, Adjunct Professor of Oncological Sciences, and Medical Director for the High Risk Cancer Clinic at the University of Utah. Dr. Schiffman’s groundbreaking work on the critical tumor suppressor gene TP53 in elephants (elephant p53, EP53) looked at the potential of EP53 to protect elephants from developing cancer. ACF’s grant award of $50,000 allowed the team to extend to testing EP53 protein loaded nanoparticles for their ability to kill canine osteosarcoma and histiocytic sarcoma, a foundation for exploring translational treatment for dogs and ultimately children and teens primarily effected by osteosarcoma.

So when Dr. Schiffman called on ACF early during the COVID-19 epidemic to fund a project for a naturally-occurring therapeutic, the board enthusiastically responded with another grant of $50,000. Dr. Schiffman in a collaboration among scientists at PEEL Therapeutics, University of Utah Health, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Weill Cornell Medical Center conducted a clinical study published June 29, 2020 in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology, that sheds light on the mysterious blood clots and inflammation seen in patients with Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and offers early promise for development of new medicine that may block COVID-19 inflammation and has application to the inflammation seen in other diseases, including especially, cancer in pets and people.

ACF continues to champion this research and we know that $250,000 would bring a robust study to fruition.

Animal Cancer Foundation’s previous sponsorship of a 2015 NAS-IOM workshop that emphasized the need for more robust genomic sequencing of canine normal and canine cancer genomes that resulted in a highly regarded white paper led our board of directors and scientific advisory council to create the Canine Cancer Genome Project.

Nationwide Pet Cancer Awareness Walk

Animal Cancer Foundation partnered with Nationwide® pet insurance to host the inaugural Nationwide® Pet Cancer Awareness Walk throughout November-December, and raised nearly $90,000 in support of ACF’s mission!

“We’re very pleased with this first-ever virtual event for the Foundation,” said Executive Director Barbara Cohen. “Not only were we able to raise vital operating funds, but also increase awareness of our mission with a national audience. We’re excited to co-host the event with Nationwide® pet insurance again later this year.”

ACF received an award from the Long Island Veterinary Medical Association (LIVMA) “for your ongoing work uniting pet and human research for a cure.”

— February 27, 2020

Dedications