Cancer-causing virus strikes genetically vulnerable horses
Friday, June 10, 2016 - 16:40
in Health & Medicine
Dr. Douglas Antczak with Cayenne, who is not afflicted with sarcoid tumors. Sarcoid skin tumors are the most common form of cancer in horses, but little is known about why the papillomavirus behind them strikes some horses and not others. A new study by an international research group led by scientists at the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine shows genetic differences in immune function between horses partly accounts for these differences. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, mirrors findings in humans, as some people have a genetic susceptibility to human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical and other cancers.