Diagnostic Screening for Cancer using Raman spectroscopy

What: RTI proposes to establish an ongoing research partnership with WFA for detecting, managing, and controlling cancer and urinary tract disease in dogs. West Highland White Terriers (Westies) are one breed afflicted with a high incidence of cancer and also pathologies of the urinary tract. The basis for the Partnership between WFA and RTI will be to determine if RTI’s Raman Molecular Urinalysis (RMU) technology can:

1. Identify specific urine molecular fingerprints unique to Westies;

2. Discover specific urine molecular fingerprints to describe stage and grade of bladder tumors and other carcinomas and sarcomas in Westies;

3. Predict treatment efficacy for dogs undergoing chemotherapy;

4. Detect and differentiate other pathologic processes in the urinary tract, focusing specifically on early-onset renal disease/renal failure, uroliths, infectious/inflammatory disease; and

5. Eventually determine if there are early signs of incipient cancer development before tumors develop in Westies (i.e., a means for early detection through regular screening [6/12 months]).

6. Determine if other common medical conditions affecting Westies, including renal dysplasia, inflammatory bowel disease, adrenal insufficiency, and atopic dermatitis, among others, produce a unique Raman molecular fingerprint that could be useful in detection and management of these diseases.

How: In concert with collection of urine specimens through the WFA and/or its designated representatives, RTI will analyze 500 urine specimens with Raman Molecular Urinalysis (RMU) technology. The work will be divided into two phases:

• Phase I: 250 urine specimens from clinically healthy dogs and those with any neoplasm (tumor) will be used to develop predictive models of any cancer in Westies; this is termed the learning phase.
• Phase II: An additional 250 urine specimens will be collected from clinically healthy dogs and those with any neoplasm (tumor) or other breed-prevalent diseases (see Point #6, above) and then run against the predicative algorithms developed in the learning phase in order to validate the model and testing algorithms; this is termed the validation phase.
• Phase III: Profile the spectra of all dogs (n=500) against our models of chronic renal disease and evolving models of other canine pathologies, in order to establish molecular fingerprints associated with the early onset of renal disease/renal failure or other common diseases in Westies.