(From left to right) Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V, Ashley Pochick, head of national accounts for Embark, and Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, on stage during the Fetch Nashville conference. (Image courtesy of Adam Christman, DVM, MBA)

In Nashville, Tennessee, there are plenty of musical influences and inspirations that can be found throughout the city limits. In songs, musicians discuss the best times of their lives, the worst times of their lives, and every feeling in between. Like the artists she listens to and looks up to, Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V, uses the best and worst times of her life to become the best veterinarian she can be.

During her keynote "Man, I Feel Like a Woman!" How Country Songs Made Me a Better Veterinarian, at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Nashville, Marks used some of her favorite country artists and songs inspirations to tell the story of her veterinary career’s highs and lows, as well as some personal, to help the attendees understand that although your path may not be what you thought it would, it is still the path you were meant to be on.

“Hopefully, you're going to leave a little more inspired, maybe challenged, maybe with a more open mind to new adventures and new possibilities that are ahead for your career and your life journey. Or maybe this is going to kickstart you into a totally new detour down the road,” Marks told attendees.

“There could be some moments that maybe you don't feel so good. Probably like this one, right? I promise they're going to be short. But it's really important that I share my whole journey, even the darker days because, let's be honest, our industry and our profession is not always rainbows and unicorns. We know that. And nobody's perfect no matter what Instagram shows you,” she added.

Growing up in a small farm town, Marks gained a love for and interest in animals starting at a young age. She shared with attendees that a good friend of hers had a horse ranch and she would spend all her free time there working with the horses. She reminisced fondly about how she would do everything for them, including bathing them and her personal favorite, getting them ready for wagon rides. Although the admiration and love for the horses were transparent, so were the issues of equine veterinary medicine. This would leave her on a much different path for her future.

“As I grew older, and spent more time in the barns, I saw some of the darker side of equine medicine. I didn't like these hours, the way my back felt at the end of the day, and transparently, how worn down the equine vet spaces looked, especially at those 2 

 colic calls. So I switched to companion animal [care] and took my first job out of school practicing in the Atlanta suburbs… After 5 years, I finally shared with my boss that my goal was practice ownership, and we set a date to start discussing it. And then a tornado hits. Not literally. The week before we began initial negotiations, his daughter got into the University of Georgia veterinary school. And he told me that [my workplace] was going to be her practice. So my boss, in return, got my resignation letter,” explained Marks.

She would then move to Chicago where she would later go on to become a co-owner of Blum Animal Hospital. For Marks, although she was looking forward to becoming the owner of the first clinic, this new life path brought her to a hospital she truly loves, which was made clear during her address. However, now as a practice owner and not an associate, she began to learn the new challenges blocking her path.

Marks explained that once she became a co-owner, she talked too much, didn’t listen enough, and set silent expectations for her team because she did not want to come off as bossy. Instead of getting discouraged, she shared that she took the time to change her approach and began replacing words such as should, must, and can’t with a more firm and kinder approach with clear instructions and deadlines to help the clinic flow better and give everyone a better understanding of her as a leader.

A traditional veterinary career is the expectation of most when finishing school. You graduate, get your first job at a clinic, and begin seeing patients. Some professionals love this and will continue to love it until they retire. This path, as picturesque as it sounds, is not the reality for some professionals. Some may get to a point in their career where they are facing burnout or compassion fatigue and can no longer continue practicing veterinary medicine. However, Marks told attendees that throughout her career, she has learned that clinical practice alone does not define a veterinarian or a technician, and they may excel in places other professionals do not.

“[Clinical practice] is just one of the puzzle pieces in your life. Are you feeling stuck right now and you're afraid to take that leap? Let me remove that mental block for you right now. Because you can start writing a blog, and submitting articles to publications,” expressed Marks.

“No one is going to know your talent until you show it. Maybe you're a selfie addict, loving behind the camera or you're already making short clips, or doing a ton of TikTok dances with your kids.. [or maybe] video production really could be your jam. You know you have one of the best cameras ever available to you on the back of your smartphone. So start small, and dream big because the content is in high demand today,” she continued.

Marks told attendees that it is okay if your brain works differently than other professionals. Maybe you have a great invention idea and want to become a business owner or you found that education is what you love to do, so you move to become a conference speaker. Regardless, your path is your path, and paving it in a direction that you love and enjoy is all up to you.

Marks reminded the attendees that some days in this profession are not good ones. It can be draining going from euthanasia to puppy exams, or have a pet pass away unexpectedly, just to go home to screaming children and a messy house. Because of that, Marks reminded attendees, as she concluded her address, that veterinary medicine should not consume their lives. She encouraged attendees to take their children to concerts they want to see, coach their softball teams, and have a fun time with family and friends. Overall, just give yourself time. To close her address, Marks told all attendees to be like Taylor Swift when they are having a bad day and just Shake It Off.

Marks N.  "Man, I Feel Like a Woman!" How Country Songs Made Me a Better Veterinarian. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Nashville, TN. May 18, 2024.

Articles

Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V, shares her journey through life in and outside of veterinary medicine to help inspire others to find the good in the bad 

Music intertwining with medicine

Кристина Корнеева / stock.adobe.com

Anal sac diseases, including anal sacculitis, anal sac impactions, anal sac abscesses can all cause discomfort when sitting or defecating. These diseases may cause the patient to scoot, lick, or bite the anus area. Although anal sac diseases are not the most glamorous condition of veterinary medicine, Julia E. Miller, DVM, DACVD, a dermatologist with Animal Dermatology Group in Louisville, Kentucky, and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, argues that it is important to not shy away from them.

During her session sponsored by VetBiotek at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Nashville, Tennessee,

 Miller told attendees, “What I want to remind you of is dogs and cats will often let us know that there's a problem going on, right? So, this dog is chewing its tail; what's another really good differential for this? Yeah, fleas. And should you always rule out fleas first? Yes. If you rule out ectoparasites in any itchy dog, you're the greatest person and you're halfway to being a dermatologist. So, ruling out ectoparasites in all itchy creatures at all times is critical.”

The precise cause of anal sac impactions is unknown, but several potential mechanisms have been suggested, including soft stools, obesity, poor muscle tone, and damage to the ducts from frequent manual expression.

 Recurrent or chronic anal sac disease may also be linked to underlying allergies (either food or environmental), making it essential to diagnose and address these conditions for effective management.

For physical identification of anal sacs, Miller said, “This is my clock face analogy. And anal glands/anal sacs live between 4 and 6, and between 6 and 8 [on a clock]… So whenever I am looking at the back end of an animal, I want to know where it sits on the clock face because that can help me decide if this is a perianal fistulas or is this an anal sacculitis issue.”

Although diagnosis can be made by physical examination, Miller also recommended doing cytology when anal sacculitis is suspected and the anal sac is palpably thickened or blood is found on expression. Miller stated, “What is not normal is blood. Every single time blood is not normal.”

She stated that in normal anal sac cytology you may see a mixed bacterial population, a very small number of yeast, and/or a very small number of white blood cells. It is abnormal to see red blood cells, a moderate to large number of white blood cells, white blood cells with intracellular bacteria, or a moderate to large number of yeast.

“I can absolutely diagnose anal gland infections with cytology, just like you would do a skin infection. If you're wondering how to do it, I will express the anal glands and, inevitably, it gets on my glove, and I literally just tap it on the slide and I do a squash smear. I do anal sac cytology all the time,” Miller told attendees.

When collecting a sample for culture, ensure that the perianal area is thoroughly cleaned and include the anal sac. This will help prevent the culture results from being unclear or crowded with contamination.

First flush the anal sac to thoroughly clean it. According to Miller, managing anal sacculitis that has not progressed to abscessation can be accomplished with focal, topical treatment. “I am a huge fan of topical therapy, a huge fan of it. When the anal gland has not ruptured yet, I think this works incredibly well for the vast majority of these [cases],” she said.

If the anal sac is already ruptured, Miller advised prescribing an oral antibiotic and use pain management strategies with a warm compress to help the patient slowly heal on its own. The bacteria typically seen with these types of infections are 

. “And how long should you do it for? That's the million-dollar question. I think 7 days can be enough in some of them. But I'm a big 3-week person because that's how I treat skin disease. I would rather treat too long than too short. That is my antibiotic rule,” Miller explained. “I'd rather overdo it than under do it. Because once I'm going the route of an oral antibiotic, people will say ‘well, is that good and antimicrobial stewardship?’ Let me tell you what bad antimicrobial stewardship is, [it's] choosing the right antibiotic and doing it for too short a period of time. That is the exact way you create resistance. Because what have you done, you've killed 90% of the bacteria you've left 10, and they get nasty resistance.”

Infusion would be effective for chronic anal sac diseases and reduce the inflammation caused by these conditions. Miller also explained Phovia a product by Vetoquinol: “What Phovia is, is it's fluorescent light therapy that helps heat [and] essentially heal deep tissue wounds and superficial wounds as well. [It also has] great antimicrobial stewardship.”

Miller JE. No Butts About It: Anal Sacs, Tail Glands, And Fistulas Oh My! Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Nashville, TN. May 17, 2024.

Lake AM, Scott DW, Miller WH et al. Gross and cytological characteristics of normal canine anal‐sac secretions. 

Paterson S, Steen S. Anal sacs: a new approach to an old problem? 

Julia E. Miller, DVM, DACVD, reviews anal sacculitis, anal sac impactions, anal sac abscesses during the Fetch dvm360 conference in Nashville, Tennessee

Getting to the bottom of anal sac diseases

Day 1 at Fetch Nashville 2024

Day 1 of the first Fetch dvm360 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, has drawn to a close. View the photos above to see a small portion of the educational sessions, exhibitor booths, and networking opportunities that were available to our event attendees as well as the fun! 

Also, catch up with Fetch Nashville through our news coverage. Articles and videos from Day 1 are listed below, and there is more to come on Saturday, March 18, 2024. 

Guidance on separation anxiety medication

Veterinary behaviorist Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, discusses this common challenge during the Day 1 keynote presentation at Fetch Nashville

Diagnosing chronic kidney disease  in feline patients

In a preview of her upcoming lecture at Fetch Nashville, Natalie L. Marks, DVM, CVJ, Elite FFCP-V, shares what diagnostic tests veterinary teams can utilize to diagnose chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats, and the importance of everyone, including specialists, being on the same page when it comes to the language surrounding CKD.

Tips for beginners on artificial intelligence

Gary Peters, MS, founder of PupPilot, offers advice for veterinary professionals new to artificial intelligence (AI) technology. 

Diet trials: The true test of food allergies

Dermatology expert Julia E. Miller, DVM, DACVD, explains the link between atopy dermatitis cases and food allergy as well as diet trials.

Advances in cancer screening and detection

In a lecture by Rachel Venable, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), updates in oncology technologies such as screening and disease detection tools are presented.

Events

News and images from the dvm360 team on site in Tennessee for our 2-day conference. 

Fetch Nashville 2024: Day 1 photos and highlights

Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, on stage during this keynote presentation at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Could prescribing medication be beneficial for your patient experiencing separation anxiety? Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, owner of Animal Behavior Clinic and co-owner of Instinct Dog Behavior and Training both located in Portland, Oregon, shared his expert opinion on this common behavioral situation during his keynote address at the Fetch dvm360 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, sponsored by Zomedica.

 “Separation anxiety is a really common problem. And when we talk about prescribing for separation anxiety, how many of you, if it existed, would really just be asking for the magic pill that was going to make that separation anxiety go away. It doesn't exist. Buzzkill,” Pachel said with a laugh. “But we do have some amazing therapies that we have the opportunity to learn about.”

First, it’s important to start off with a proper diagnosis of separation anxiety before considering any medication. Pachel also noted that even if you decide to move forward with a prescription, the medication should be used within a treatment plan that includes other management methods such as behavior modification strategies and safety tips for owners.

To diagnose, symptoms such as destruction, vocalization, and elimination would normally be present with separation anxiety. To further confirm the diagnosis, a patient history can be taken and a record of responses to any previous intervention. Pachel usually asks his clients the following questions to gather more information about the case:

Is separation anxiety the only thing going on for this animal?

Are we treating separation anxiety and noise phobia and other fear-based behaviors and compulsive disorder?

Is it frequent or situational with certain triggers?

How far in advance do you know you need to leave? Are you someone who operates on a regular schedule? (Do you always leave the house at 8 AM?)

If your dog is distressed, what do they do? Are they very quietly shutting down? Trembling? Are they hyper salivating? Are they urinating and defecating? Are they highly active and ripping down the curtains or scratching at the door?

These are just some of the questions you could be asking, but the more thorough you are, the better. Getting a complete understanding of your patient and their needs will help you more accurately diagnose the separation anxiety. This can also help determine if medication can be used in conjunction with other management therapies.

One nonpharmacological option from Zomedica is the Calmer Canine device. This technology can deliver microcurrents of targeted pulsed electromagnetic field (tPEMF) signals to the area of the brain involved in controlling emotions such as anxiety. This aims to return a stressed brain to a more balanced emotional state.

If utilizing medications is the right fit for your patient, then where should you start? Pachel explained to attendees that there are currently 2 FDA approved drugs for long-term separation anxiety management: fluoxetine (Reconcile; PRN Pharmacal) and clomipramine (Clomicalm; Virbac). Pachel also recommended paroxetine and sertraline. For short-term use, Pachel recommended trazodone, clonidine, benzodiazepines, acepromazine, or dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel (Sileo; Zoetis), which is FDA approved for canine noise aversion.

“It's not a one size fits all, but we do have the opportunity to lean on these medications while we're thinking about supporting these animals most effectively,” Pachel reminded attendees.

“I would say the other options, the one that I've listed at the top with fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, clomipramine, and venlafaxine, I'm much more likely to reach for those as first line standalone maintenance therapy,” he added.

However, Pachel also recommended tailoring your medication prescription to treat presenting symptoms. “If I've got an animal that has hyper salivation, or perhaps loose stools, or urine leakage as part of their clinical signs, potentially leveraging some of that anticholinergic side effect profile could be helpful utilizing paroxetine, and of the SSRIs that we're talking about here, paroxetine is the one most likely to do that,” he stated as an example.

Pachel also clarified that prescribing medication should fall into either a category of “maintenance” of the separation anxiety or “situational” if this behavior comes up with certain events. Maintenance would be for patients that are triggered frequently or if triggers are unavoidable. An example of this would be if a client leaving for work every day triggers anxiety for the pet, however this event is frequent and unavoidable. A situational approach would be for patients that are usually triggered by a predictable event or are typically infrequent. An example of this would be if a pet gets anxiety from loud noises such as fireworks or thunderstorms. These 2 categories could possibly be used together if needed, according to Pachel.

His general recommendation for maintenance of separation anxiety is to prescribe for a daily use, given 1-2 times a day for 3 to 4 weeks at onset of action/behavior. However, this should also be tailored to your patient and their needs. Situational should be first given at a low dose to trial the tolerance. Advise clients to observe their pet on the drug and report response. Then, use the medication at onset of the triggering event and monitor the fear, anxiety, and stress response. Is it better, worse, or unchanged?

“Now, one of the questions that often comes up as well is let's say you started a patient on one of these medications and it's not working, how do you transition? How do you move from one to the next? And the answer in almost every case is, it depends. But what does it depend on? It depends on urgency; how urgently do we need to get to a new medication? Do we have an opportunity here to titrate or taper down very, very slowly to observe whether that patient even still needs to be on one of these medications? Or trying to get data about what they look like when they're off medication,” Pachel said.

Helping animals with separation anxiety is not just an act of compassion, but a crucial step towards ensuring their overall well-being and quality of life. “We can turn sad, anxious faces into a much happier, more relaxed, and less stressed sort of an animal,” Pachel said.

Pachel C. Prescribing for separation anxiety. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Nashville, TN; May 17, 2024.

A veterinary behaviorist discusses this common challenge during the Day 1 keynote presentation at Fetch Nashville

In the past, it was commonly believed that food allergies were rare among dogs and cats. However, with advancements in veterinary medicine and more accurate dermatologic protocols and methods, there has been a notable rise in the diagnosis of food allergies. Therefore, Julia E. Miller, DVM, DACVD, a dermatologist with Animal Dermatology Group in Louisville, Kentucky, and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, stressed that it is crucial for veterinary professionals to continue their ability to identify these cases. She helped attendees at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Nashville, Tennessee address food allergy cases during her session sponsored by Blue Buffalo.

According to Miller, 10% to 25% of atopy dermatitis cases are caused by a food allergy.

 Food allergy, more formally referred to as cutaneous adverse food reaction, is an adverse immunologic reaction to an allergen in the diet. Diagnosing a food allergy can be quite frustrating since it presents very similarly to environmentally-caused allergies. The same signs of skin pruritus, scratching, licking, and scooting can be present. “Could this be a food allergic dog? 100%. Could this be an atopic dog? 100%. It’s so difficult to identify the difference, especially on sight alone,” Miller explained.

Age at onset could give a clue for food allergy as it can happen at any age, while atopy usually occurs at 1 to 3 years of age (with exceptions). Symptoms occurring in a dog aged less than 6 months or older than 4 years could be a clearer sign pointing to food allergy rather than atopy. Seasonality can also help point to identification because atopy can occur relative to the season, but the season has no impact on food allergy. Miller stated, “So if you have a dog starting with itch at 6 years of age, and it is non-seasonally pruritic, you better do a diet trial on that dog. That's very important.”

And finally, previous methods of using medications and the patient’s response can help with identification. If a patient is not responding to any treatments, it could possibly be food allergy rather than atopy.

To accurately diagnose, a diet trial could be the ideal approach for specific cases. Although this is the ideal method, diet trials are extremely difficult to get right and not all clients will be able to comply to the strict requirements necessary for it to be successful. It is also important to note that other conditions should also be taken care of before starting a diet trial. Miller said as an example, “If [the patient] is covered in bacteria, your diet trial is never going to work. It's never going to be accurate if you don't actually clear the other stuff. So clean the slate. That is super important.”

Miller also explained that serum, saliva, and hair tests are not effective diagnostic methods for food allergy and are not recommended by specialists.

“So, now we have our patients selected, who sounds like a food allergic dog. Now you need to have a conversation with a client about if a diet trial is possible. And you have to have this conversation. If you're a veterinarian that sends dog food out the door without this conversation, shame on you, right? Because you are wasting your client’s money unless they know how to properly do a diet trial,” Miller said. 

Thorough client handouts can be a tremendous help with this communication, she noted. Printing out a copy of the complete plan, including necessary recheck appointments, can be helpful for clients.

For a diet trail to be successful, the patient must only eat the selected diet by the veterinary professional. This means none of the following add-ons

Miller also advised attendees to be cautious of shared water bowls for patients on a diet trial for risks of cross-contamination.

When the client is on board, what diet do you select? There are 3 options:

Food selection should also consider the patient’s diet history (what’s not working?), the pet’s palate, and if dry or wet food is the best approach. OTC diets are never considered a diet trial because there is a high chance of cross-contamination. Miller reminded attendees that no one size fits all and diet trials must be specifically tailored for the patient.

“Here are our most common allergens: chicken, and I have egg and duck in there. I do believe, and I've seen this be the case, that the feathered friends cross react and I do believe egg cross reacts with chicken and the reason I believe it is my own dog is my little chicken allergic gal. Beef is maybe surpassing chicken these days is one of our No. 1 allergens. We used to think beef was kind of a novel protein, [but] it's really not anymore. And then also dairy and lamb are in there. Now we can sometimes see wheat allergies. I hate to admit it, because I don't like to blame a grain. But occasionally you can get wheat, soy, corn, pork, and fish, these are much lower.”

According to Miller, after 3 weeks on a diet trial, more than 50% of dogs will show improvement. After 5 weeks, more than 85% of dogs show improvement, and after 8 weeks, this jumps up to more than 95% of dogs showing improvement. “So the way that I feed diets is I have the client check back in with me at 4 to 6 weeks. If there is zero change in 4 to 6 weeks, I am done. I do not feed that diet for another 2 months. If there is some change in that 4-to-6-week plan, I continue the diet a little bit longer and see how good I can get it,” Miller said.

Finally, at the end of the trial, if the patient has not improved then it might not be a food allergy, or the client did not correctly complete the trial. This would require a pivot in treatment methods moving forward. If the patient does show improvement, then a long-term diet change should be discussed.

Miller JE. Don’t Dread the Diet Trial! Demystifying Food Allergies and How to Accurately Diagnose Them. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Nashville, TN. May 17, 2024.

Miller JE. The itchy and scratchy show: How to confidently diagnose canine allergies (part 1). Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Charlotte, North Carolina; March 15-17, 2024.

Favrot C, Steffan J, Seewald W, Picco F. A prospective study on the clinical features of chronic canine atopic dermatitis and its diagnosis. 

A dermatology expert explains the maze of food allergic patients and how to best diagnose them

As new therapies and products come to market and medical care advances, choosing which to use tool or method can become overwhelming. To provide education and insight about new oncology care options, Rachel Venable, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), founder of Pet Cancer Care Consulting in Scottsdale, Arizona, discussed what general practitioners need to know, during the 2024 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

An estimated 1 in 4 dogs will develop cancer at some point in their lives, and it is the leading cause of death for canines who are older than middle age, according to the Veterinary Cancer Society.

 Approximately 6 million new cancer diagnoses are made in dogs in the US each year.

“Pet owners will often do lots of their own research especially when the diagnosis is cancer. They will often come to their veterinarian with all kinds of questions about new products and therapies they found online. As the veterinarian, it can be a challenge to know what technologies and therapies are proven and good options for these pet owners,” Venable said.

Venable’s talk covered various emerging technologies and therapies in veterinary oncology with one of the main focuses being cancer screening and detection. The lecture included discussions of several screening and detection products that have recently become available to veterinary teams. Among the innovative tools presented during the lecture are the following products

The Nu.Q blood test was developed by epigenetics company Volition for veterinary cancer screening. It works by measuring the level of nucleosomes—“a collection of DNA wrapped around a histone core with multiple histones forming the chromosome”—in the blood, according to Venable.

In studies with canine patients, the Nu.Q test has found higher levels of nucleosomes in the bloodstream, which is associated with a presence of cancer. In a study of 500 dogs with cancer, the test detection rate was 77% for lymphoma and 81% for hemangiosarcoma.

“What this test picks up the most is lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma,” said Venable. However, the Nu.Q test is less sensitive to other types of cancers, such as mast cell tumors and soft tissue sarcoma, and Venable suggested it may not always be the right tool. 

“If you have a dog that has a lump and you’re wondering if it’s cancer, just do your normal testing. Ask for a biopsy and whatever you would typically do because those real solid combined tumors don’t seem to be shedding as many nucleosomes in the blood, vs cancers like a major sarcoma that is already involved in the blood.”

Recommended for screening in healthy dogs older than 7 years, Nu.Q has the benefit of being a simple blood test that is “fairly inexpensive” and can return results in about 10 minutes or less, according to Venable. The test was made available to the US veterinary market in January 2023 through the IDEXX reference laboratory network, in partnership with Volition.

 It more recently became available to veterinarians in the US through the veterinary diagnostics company Antech.

Venable discussed 2 urine tests for cancer detection, starting with Oncotect, which relies on nematodes for disease detection. The Oncotect test is recommended for screening older dogs for cancer and can be done during a veterinary visit or at home with a test kit ordered online by pet owners.

 “They just need a small amount of urine. It’s pretty simple,” said Venable.

Oncotect test results are returned within 7 days, along with a clear risk assessment of melanoma, lymphoma, mast cell tumor and hemangiosarcoma for the pet. Guidance for appropriate next steps is also provided and based on the test results.

Venable said the sensitivity of the test is “pretty decent.” She cited a study that found an 85% sensitivity for detecting melanoma, lymphoma, mast cell tumor and hemangiosarcoma. “Similar to Nu.Q, this test can tell you if cancer is detected but not the type of cancer,” she added.

The Oncotect test, developed by a startup of the same name, was made available on the market in October 2023. The test kit is priced under $200, according to the company.

The second urine test Venable covered was Antech's CADET 

 for canines. This test detects the presence of cells that contain the 

a mutation, which is associated with canine bladder and prostate cancers, in urine.

 is not a screening test but rather a tool that aids in diagnosing cancer in dogs with a urinary bladder mass.

 For example, Antech indicates clinical cases that present with hematuria, and/or urinary incontinence with diagnostic imaging of a bladder mass as one criteria for using CADET 

The test requires a generous amount of urine, Venable said, but a benefit to the veterinary team is that it can be collected over a few days by the pet’s owner. “The other nice thing is [the test] is not affected by blood or protein or bacteria, because a lot of these bladder tumors have infections. Some earlier tests that were trying to look at this were really affected by urinary tract infection,” said Venable

Venable reminded Fetch attendees that it is important to be aware of new technology, tests and treatments that can help elevate the standard of clinical medicine being practiced. “I think it’s about knowing what’s out there and when to appropriately use it,” she added.

Venable R. Recent advances in veterinary oncology: updates every general practitioner should know. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; Nashville, Tennessee. May 17-19, 2024.

Nu.Q vet cancer test now available through IDEXX’s reference laboratory network. 

. January 12, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2024. 

https://www.dvm360.com/view/nu-q-vet-cancer-test-now-available-through-idexx-s-reference-laboratory-network

Pet owner resources; Frequently asked questions. Veterinary Cancer Society. 2023. Accessed May 17, 2023. 

http://vetcancersociety.org/pet-owners/faqs

Cancer test launches within US and European veterinary clinics. 

. April 23, 2024. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://www.dvm360.com/view/cancer-test-launches-within-us-and-european-veterinary-clinics

Oncotect, the startup using worms to detect cancer in dogs, launches the first-ever early cancer screening kit available online for pet owners. News release. October 2, 2023.

The power of molecular diagnostics. Antech. 2024. Accessed May 17, 2024. 

https://www.antechdiagnostics.com/cadet-braf-plus/

Rachel Venable, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology) presented oncology updates to general practitioners at Fetch Nashville