Cancer is a complex biological process in which a healthy cell has the ability to convert into a tumorigenic and ultimately malignant cell. A tumor will form if the cell is not detected and/or removed by the immune system. Cancer is a natural occurrence in dogs and cats, and it is just as prevalent as it is in humans. It is one of the most common causes of death in dogs and cats. Canine tumor models are useful for finding new cancer-associated genes and improving understanding of tumor molecular biology in humans because of the parallels between canines and humans in terms of anatomy, physiology, and tumor start and progression. Since dogs and cats frequently share human habitats, one could wonder if there is a risk.
Do Dogs Cause Cancer?
Recent research on the link between dogs and cancer has found both positive and negative results. Although there is no proof that dogs can cause their owners to develop breast cancer after a German study in 2006 found that women who had a pet dog in the previous 10 years or at the time were at 3.5 times higher risk of breast cancer. The hypothesis that there might be a connection between dogs and cancer was widely publicized in the media. Nearly 80% of the women with breast cancer in the study had “intense interaction” with dogs for up to 30 years before their diagnosis, according to the researchers.
The study was small and it was criticized for not taking into account elements other than the ownership or dogs. The fact that only one study has been done on this topic shows that few other research organizations thought it was worth investigating further. However, experts investigating the link have speculated that it could be due to a virus that has been found in both dogs and humans, as well as the fact that breast cancer is widespread in female dogs.
The mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has been shown to cause breast cancer in mice for more than 30 years. The virus has also been found in breast tumor-bearing dogs and cats. Some scientists believe that dogs can transmit MMTV or MMTV-like viruses to people, and that these viruses can cause human breast cancer, although there is no convincing data to back up this notion.
Is Cancer Transferable to Humans from Dogs?
More research is needed to understand how the virus works and whether it can be transmitted from mice to dogs and subsequently to humans, according to scientists. It’s also worth noting that people who own dogs are more likely to exercise and being physically active has been shown to lower the risk of breast cancer.
Thousands of publications suggesting that our furry companions may relieve stress, stimulate us to move more, and lessen the risk of diseases like obesity and heart disease can be found if you simply look up the benefits of owning a dog. However, scientific evidence on the link between dogs and health is inconsistent, with new studies suggesting that owning specific types of dogs is linked to an increased risk of cancer death, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Studies have revealed that having a dog can have a number of health benefits, such as preventing childhood allergies, improving mental health, and lowering blood pressure. Many studies have also demonstrated that pet owners are more susceptible to illnesses like migraine headaches, gastric ulcers, anxiety, and hypertension.
New research by epidemiologists at Georgia Southern University’s College of Public Health suggests that certain dogs may increase the risk of cancer in some people. Researchers looked at three studies that used data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which had been collected since 1988 and included information on 13,725 people who were demographically typical of the American population. It turns out that about half of them owned pets.
Pets can induce development in people, especially in those who are immunocompromised. Although no human cancer has been known to pass naturally from person to person (or animal to animal), the presence of similar diseases in dogs and Tasmanian devils raises the possibility that people may be at risk. Only a few cancers are capable of spreading from one living host to another. These tumors, also known as naturally transmissible tumors, develop when a tumor cell acquires the ability to transmit infectious material between people. There are two types of contagious tumors that arise naturally: Canine transmissible venereal tumors are nonfatal tumors that affect the orogenital area of dogs. They are spread by sexual contact or bites/licks between individual dogs.
Our pets may provide us with unconditional love, but they can also provide us with a variety of things we don’t desire. Lyme disease, leptospirosis, giardia, ringworms, and salmonella are among them. Indeed, several researchers have suggested that our pets may cause cancer. So it’s not as far-fetched as you might assume that there’s a correlation between pet ownership and cancer. After all, an oral variant of the human papilloma virus, which is spread from person to person, probably even by kissing, causes some malignancies of the throat and mouth.
Several studies have confirmed that pets can contain cancer-causing germs. According to German researchers, 38% of a group of women with cancer had lived with a dog for at least 10 years. In a matched control group of women without cancer, only 15% of women had a dog. The researchers speculated that dogs may have a mammary tumor virus strain.
- J. Donaldson suggested that cats may spread feline leukemia virus to their owner in an article published in the medical journal The Lancet. Cancer has also been linked to pet birds. Individuals with lung cancer were significantly more likely than groups to have had an avian pet, according to two research teams.
Final Thoughts
Before you start to panic, keep in mind that other researchers have come to different conclusions. Women who lived with dogs, for example, were not at an elevated risk of lung cancer, according to a 1996 research. According to a British study, dog owners are no more likely than non-dog owners to develop brain tumors. Several studies have shown no evidence that dogs or cats can spread leukemia.
