Can cancer in dogs and cats be detected by a blood test? _ Unfortunately, there are still some veterinarians who will recommend, and sell you, cancer screening blood tests for your pets with a good deal more confidence in their benefits than is justified. . Screening tests, which try to identify hidden disease in apparently healthy animals, can sometimes be beneficial. If these tests are sufficiently accurate, and if we have truly useful treatments to offer the cases we find, then we can use such screening to reduce disease and suffering. However, at the moment there is no such screening blood test for cancer in dogs and cats. . The specific tests suggested , thymidine kinase, C-reactive protein, and Vitamin D, do have some potential value in testing for cancer and monitoring cancer treatment. The evidence, however, is very preliminary and does not clearly tell us that these tests, alone or in combination, are sufficiently accurate to find most hidden cancers and not misidentify too many healthy animals as having cancer. Much more research needs to be done before these tests can be recommended as part of soundly scientific and evidence-based medicine. . And there is little evidence that if we had such a test we could actually help the pets with cancer we identified live longer or healthier lives. In addition to working on developing good screening tests for cancer in dogs and cats, we will need to find out which treatments, if any, can help these pets to live longer and stay healthier once we find them. Given unproven herbal remedies and supplements to these animals, even if the tests showing they have hidden disease are correct, does not benefit them and may do harm. It is natural to want a clear, simply way to reassure ourselves our pets are healthy, and to want effective treatments to give them if we find they have cancer even though they appear healthy. However, taking the best care possible of our animal companions does not mean subjecting them to testing which is unreliable and therapies which aren’t proven to be safe and effective. Good preventative health care means scientific, evidence-based healthcare, not chasing after comforting promises without real evidence. . The best strategy for preventing disease in our pets is to feed them nutritionally complete diets, maintain them at a healthy, lean body condition, keep up with appropriate preventative care for infectious diseases and parasites, and provide them with appropriate socialization and training, physical and mental exercise, and love. While less dramatic in some ways that blood tests, supplements, and other kinds of constant tinkering with their physiology, this is still the best preventative health care we can give our pets. . Read more: vcsspdx/can-cancer-in-dogs-and-cats-be-detected-by-a-blood-test/ __________________________________ Top Ten Signs of Cancer in Pets petmd/dog/slideshows/general_health/top-ten-signs-of-cancer-in-pets
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 23:31:49 +0000
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