Scientists have pinpointed a HER2 mutation in dogs with canine pulmonary adenocarcinoma, suggesting that neratinib may help dogs with certain cases of lung cancer.
Results from this study have laid the groundwork for a clinical trial of neratinib (Nerlynx, Puma Biotechnology), an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has demonstrated efficacy in human breast cancer, for dogs with naturally occurring lung cancer that carry the HER2 mutation.
“This study is really exciting to us because, not only have we found a recurrent hot-spot mutation in a canine cancer that had never been found before, but it actually has direct clinical translational relevance,” William P.D. Hendricks, PhD, assistant professor in TGen’s Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, said in a press release. “For humans, we already have drugs that can inhibit many dysregulated proteins. We hope to show that we can provide the same benefit for dogs with cancer.”
