Cat Cancers Mirror Human Cancers, Guiding Cross-Species Therapies

A large study sequencing 1,000 cancer-associated genes in 500 cat tumors finds striking similarities with human cancers: TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in both species, cat mammary cancers show about 50% PIK3CA mutations, and RAS mutations are less common in cats. Because cat cancers arise spontaneously in the same environment as people, they offer a valuable cross-species model for understanding cancer biology and testing targeted therapies, aided by veterinary biobanks and open data that can accelerate translational research for both cats and humans.