Serum Raman Spectroscopy Explorations in Canine Cancers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The examination of canine cancers has garnered substantial attention in recent years. This is primarily because of the parallel between dogs and humans in the development of spontaneous cancers without the need for experimental induction, unlike in laboratory rodents. Numerous studies have explored the utility of canine subjects in the advancement of our understanding of cancers, recognizing their potential as valuable natural models. A particularly noteworthy diagnostic tool in this context is serum Raman spectroscopy (RS), a method known for its minimally invasive, label-free, rapid, and objective nature, with a wide range of applications that extends to various diseases, including cancer. In this study, serum RS was explored for canine cancers, potentially offering a novel approach to the field of veterinary oncology. This investigation included 12 healthy dogs (C) and 38 companion dogs afflicted with an array of malignancies (T), including 18 carcinomas, 9 sarcomas, 3 head and neck tumors, 2 mast cell tumors, and 1 venereal granuloma. Serum was separated from the blood samples collected and subjected to RS, followed by spectral preprocessing and multivariate analyses. Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares revealed alterations in nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins among the groups. Principal component-based linear discriminant analysis (PC-LDA) results demonstrated correct identification of 73% of the C and 87% of the T samples. The outcomes of this study highlight the efficacy of serum RS in the detection of canine cancers. Comprehensive large-scale studies involving diverse cancer types are imperative to validate findings.