Splitting her time between the main Cornell campus in Ithaca and the Weill Cornell Medical campus in New York City, Dr. Kristy Richards has developed a unique plan to research new lymphoma treatments. Lymphoma is a common form of cancer in humans and also the most common form of cancer found in dogs. So as human oncologist, Dr. Richards thought that treatments for canine patients could lead to advances in the treatment of human lymphoma patients,
“Dog and human lymphoma patients share many biological similarities, as well as the unfortunate fact that rates of the disease are rising for both species. “We don’t know why this is,” Richards says. “It could be something in the environment, which both dogs and humans share. So in a way, dogs could be a canary in the coal mine.”
“Richards plans to test cutting-edge approaches such as immunotherapy, which harnesses the body’s natural defenses to fight off cancer cells, in dogs suffering from lymphoma. This September, she was awarded a supplement grant from the National Cancer Institute, in partnership with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, to further explore canine immunotherapy with veterinary patients that come to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals.”
The full article can be read here. More information about Dr. Richards work and the practical benefits so far accrued for both two and four legged lymphoma patients can be found in the below video.
New Developments in Lymphoma 