Epidemiology of Four Major Canine Tumours in the UK: Insights From a National Pathology Registry With Comparative Oncology Perspectives

Sep 22, 2026

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Pet dogs with naturally occurring cancers provide valuable models for comparative oncology, and pathology tumour registries enable onco-epidemiological research. Using the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) pathology-based tumour registry, a case–control analysis assessed 130,998 histologically confirmed tumours from UK dogs (2010–2023). Results highlighted breed-specific risks for melanoma, haemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and mast cell tumour, and showed age, neutering status, and sex-dependent patterns that support canine cancer surveillance and comparative studies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

One Health and comparative oncology context

Cancer epidemiology in pet dogs

Tumour registry development (SAVSNET)

Epidemiological analysis approach (case-control study)

Breed-, demographic-, and neutering-related risk patterns

Significance for canine surveillance and translational research

Veterinary and Comparative Oncology ORIGINAL ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Epidemiology of Four Major Canine Tumours in the UK: Insights From a National Pathology Registry With Comparative Oncology Perspectives José Rodríguez1,2 | Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros1 | Ángelo Santana3 | P. J. Noble2 | Alan D. Radford2 | Francesco Cian4 | Annika Herrmann5 | Jenny S. McKay5 | Matthew Jones6 | David R. Killick2 1Institute for Animal Health and Food Safety, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain | 2Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, UK | 3Mathematics Department, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain | 4Batt Laboratories, Venture Centre, Coventry, UK | 5Veterinary Pathology Group (VPG), Exeter, UK | 6IDEXX Laboratories, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, UK Correspondence: Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros (antonio.espinosa@ulpgc.es) Received: 2 December 2024 | Revised: 28 November 2025 | Accepted: 19 December 2025 Keywords: breed risk | canine cancer | comparative oncology | haemangiosarcoma | mast cell tumour | melanoma | one health | osteosarcoma | tumour registry | veterinary oncology ABSTRACT Pet dogs with naturally occurring cancers provide valuable models for comparative oncology and pathology tumour registries offer a powerful resource for onco-epidemiological research. Here, we analysed the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) pathology-based tumour registry (PTR), one of the largest veterinary tumour registries to date, focusing on four major canine tumours: mast cell tumour (MCT), osteosarcoma (OSA), haemangiosarcoma (HSA), and melanoma (MEL) . A case–control study was conducted using a subset of 130 998 histologically confirmed tumours drawn from the pathology tumour registry containing over 1.1 million canine tumour records from 1.02 million dogs collected in the UK between 2010 and 2023. Case–control analyses were performed for melanoma, haemangiosarcoma, OSA and MCT using a denominator population of dogs attending first-opinion veterinary practices. Additionally for MCT, comparisons were made against dogs diagnosed with other tumour types (‘tumour denominator’ approach) . Breed-specific risks were identified, including high odds ratios (OR) for Bulldog-related breeds and Retrievers with mast cell tumours (MCTs) (OR up to 6.8, 95% CI 6.0, 7.6), Rottweilers, Shar Pei and Giant-Schnauzer with melanoma (OR up to 50.3, 95% CI 24.7, 102.5), and German Shepherd Dogs, Mastiffs, and Bullmastiffs with haemangiosarcoma (OR up to 28.0, 95% CI 10.6, 40.9) . Higher-grade MCT were diagnosed at older ages and certain breeds were more predisposed to higher-grade MCT (Shar Pei, Rottweiler) while others were more prone to low-grade MCTs (Boxer, Boston Terrier) . Neutered dogs generally had higher tumour odds than entire dogs; for example, in MCTs, female-neutered vs. female-entire showed OR 1.81 (95% CI 1.6, 2.0) in ages 3–6, with similar patterns across older age bands. In general, the difference in OR values between entire and neutered dogs was consistently more pronounced in females than in males. These findings demonstrate the value of the SAVSNET PTR as a comprehensive resource for canine tumour surveillance, with potential to support health initiatives and cancer research by identifying breed-specific and demographic risk factors as well as a foundational tool for comparative cancer epidemiology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2026 The Author(s). Veterinary and Comparative Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 324 Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 2026; 24:324–340 [https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.70056](https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.70056) 1 | Introduction For more than 10 000years, dogs and humans have co-evolved [1], thriving

FAQs

What data source was used to study the four canine tumour types in the UK?

The study used the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) pathology-based tumour registry (PTR) derived from UK pathology records.

Which four major canine tumours were analyzed?

The analysis focused on mast cell tumour (MCT), osteosarcoma (OSA), haemangiosarcoma (HSA), and melanoma (MEL).

How did the study assess breed-specific risk?

Breed-specific risk was evaluated using case–control analyses, including comparisons against a denominator population of dogs attending first-opinion veterinary practices and, for MCT, a tumour denominator approach.

Sep 22, 2026

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