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A new research institute at the University of Guelph is seeking better ways to diagnose and treat pets with cancer - while at the same time possibly helping humans.

"This is more than just, 'Oh, we have a new way to treat tumours in dogs,' " said Brenda Coomber, co-director of the Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation. "It's a way of maximizing the information we have for the benefit of animals and people."

The institute, which brings together 30 researchers from varied disciplines, is part of a shift in cancer research toward using pets to help unlock the mysteries of human cancers.

"It adds another layer to the research field," says Warren Skippon, of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. "The more patients - human or animal - that are put through these new diagnostics and treatments, the better it is for both populations."

Researchers have traditionally used lab rats and mice with artificially induced tumours to develop and test new cancer treatments, says Dr. Coomber, whose research focuses on tumour biology. Pets, on the other hand, arrive at veterinary clinics as patients. Their tumours occur naturally, just like in humans. Some tumours in companion animals - dogs in particular - behave similarly to tumours in humans.

Pet dogs and humans are the only two species that naturally develop lethal prostate cancers, according to an article in the December issue of Scientific American that highlights some of those similarities.

The type of breast cancer that affects pet dogs spreads preferentially to bones - just as it does in women.

And the most common bone cancer in pet dogs, osteosarcoma, is the same cancer that strikes teenagers.

Researchers in the emerging field of comparative oncology believe those similarities will provide a new strategy to combat cancer in humans.

In the United States, the National Cancer Institute has set up a consortium of more than a dozen veterinary teaching hospitals to conduct tests on cancer treatments in dogs. Several government and industry leaders are also testing human cancer drugs in dogs. Meanwhile, dogs enrolled in these trials often get the best treatments available.

Cancer treatments account for about one-third of the 13,000 visits per year received at the small animal clinic at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College. One of those patients was a six-year-old English pointer named Waggs, who in April completed five weeks of radiation treatment on a cancerous lump on her front leg.

Waggs's surgery and radiation treatments have so far cost about $6,000. "It's a lot, but we feel that it's worth it," says owner Elaine Alguire, 60, of Toronto. "We didn't have any children, so she's our baby."

Ms. Alguire said she'd gladly sign Waggs up for clinical trials. "If these treatments can be successful and help humans, then it's wonderful."

The Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation will study cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as possible environmental or dietary triggers. It will also look at the social and financial impacts on owners whose pets are diagnosed with cancer.

Cancer causes nearly half of deaths in dogs over 10 years old, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Breeds that are particularly at risk for certain cancers include boxers, chow chows, Rottweilers, collies and golden retrievers.

Carole Brechbill, who has bred golden retrievers in Winchester, Ont., for 38 years, knows that all too well. Her prize-winning retriever, Judge, died suddenly from a cancer in the lining of his heart. His brother died of cancer at age 2.

Ms. Brechbill hopes the Guelph initiative will help pets and humans alike. "I'm really concerned with these things," she said. "Cancer's a really devastating disease."