Science of Veterinary Oncology
Build or refresh your foundational knowledge pertaining to veterinary oncology with the Science of Veterinary Oncology (SOVO) Courses led by industry experts. This bundle includes all 12 Science of Veterinary Oncology courses and offers a total of 14.0 CE credits.
Building the Immune Environment of Cancer
Jaime Modiano, VMD, PhD
This lecture will describe the formation, remodeling, maintenance, and function of the immune landscape of cancer. Specifically, the formation of the tumor-immune environment at the earliest stages of tumor development, its heterogeneity and constantly evolving phenotypes, the physiological processes that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, and the role of adaptive evolution within the tumor will be discussed in the context of how they determine the duration and efficacy of anti-tumor immune responses. This presentation is organized in three topics. The first topic covers the formation of the tumor immune environment and is subdivided into three sections that will focus on (1) inflammation and cancer, (2) the immune response to cancer, and (3) the development of the tumor-immune environment. The second topic describes a cross sectional view of the tumor-immune landscape and is also subdivided into three sections that will focus on (1) the definition of the tumor-immune landscape, (2) the composition and complexity of the tumor-immune landscape, and (3) the clinical significance of the tumor-immune landscape. The final topic describes the evolution of the tumor-immune landscape and is subdivided into four sections that will focus on (1) the innate response to tumor formation, (2), the dynamic interactions between the tumor and the immune system, (3) the role of mutational neoantigens in the anti-tumor immune response, and (4) immunoediting, or the success or failure of anti-tumor immunity. An important conclusion from this lecture is that breaking the tumor immunosuppressive barrier(s) is an absolute condition that must be achieved if cancer immunotherapies are to be successful.Cancer Bioenergetics
Douglass H. Thamm, VMD, DACVIM (Oncology)
Cancer Stem Cells
David Argyle, PhD and Lisa Pang, PhD
The cancer stem cell theory states that tumor growth is driven by a small number of dedicated cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells are endowed with the ability to self-renew (leading to unlimited cell division and maintenance of the stem cell pool), differentiate into non-CSCs and are intrinsically resistant to conventional therapeutics. This theory explains the clinical observations of almost inevitable tumor relapse after initially successful chemo and/or radiotherapy, and metastasis. This course reviews the biology of CSCs and provides insights into CSC plasticity, interaction with the niche, tumor repopulation and clinical implications of therapeutic response.
Canine Cancer Precision Medicine: Genomic Landscapes and Actionability Horizons
William Hendricks, PhD
Cancer is a genetic disease. The genomics revolution of the past two decades has provided detailed maps of the underpinnings of many human cancers through the generation of hundreds of thousands of cancer genome sequences. These data are increasingly leveraged to guide development of new clinical diagnostics, prognostics, and targeted treatments that are improving outcomes for human cancer patients. The genomics revolution has now also crossed into veterinary oncology, particularly in pet dogs, where nearly two thousand cancer genomes have been sequenced and published in the past five years alone. Although the path from mapping cancer genome landscapes to clinical translation is still under development, the oncoming flood of genomic data stands poised to transform veterinary oncology. We and others are charting the genomic landscapes of naturally occurring canine cancers in order to develop new clinical tools for veterinary oncology and to establish comparative settings in which clinical hypotheses can be rapidly tested across species. Here we will review cancer's genetic basis across species, summarize the history of and recent developments in naturally occurring canine cancer genomics, and discuss implications of these emerging data for development of new clinical tools in veterinary oncology including opportunities and challenges in leveraging these data.Cell Signaling and Signal Transduction Inhibitors
Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology)
- Normal signal transduction and cellular homeostasis
- Major signal transduction pathways in cells (PI3 kinase, MAP Kinase, etc.)
- Causes of dysregulated signaling in cancer cells (e.g., mutations, etc.)
- Role of dysregulated signaling in supporting cancer cell growth/survival
- Methods and mechanisms to aberrant signal transduction in cancer (e.g., small molecular inhibitors)
- Resistance to small molecule inhibitors
- Application of small molecule inhibitors to veterinary cancers
Discovery and Evaluation of Anticancer Drugs
David Lowery, PhD
Pharmaceuticals are an important tool in the treatment of cancer. This course gives a high level view of the history of anticancer drugs, a general idea of the current drug discovery process for both small and large molecule drugs, and what tools might be coming next for the veterinary oncologist.
Epigenetics of Cancer
Jeffery Bryan, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology)
This lecture describes the common, currently understood epigenetic mechanisms of mammalian cells that contribute to carcinogenesis. It will explain an overall mechanism for each type of epigenetic modification, and give specifics in veterinary oncology where they have been published. The student should be able to describe the effects of these epigenetic modifications on gene expression and cell function after this lecture.