New issue of Best Friends Magazine

Cancer Cell Killer: Investigating cannabidiol (CBD) as an innovative cancer treatment option in dogs

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most common bladder cancer found in dogs and accounts for approximately two per cent of all canine cancer cases.

UC is also a cancer that impacts humans and according to Bladder Cancer Canada, it is the fifth most common cancer in Canada. Also sometimes referred to as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), approximately 9,000 Canadians are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year and since it has a 60 to 70 per cent rate of recurrence, bladder cancer is the most expensive cancer to treat on a per-patient basis.

Dr. Samuel Hocker, a board-certified veterinary medical oncologist at the Ontario Veterinary College’s Mona Campbell Centre for Animal Cancer, is one of the first Canadian-based veterinary researchers to investigate the potential impact of cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally occurring compound and non-psychoactive constituent found in cannabis plants, as an innovative treatment for dogs with this difficult-to-treat cancer. His research is investigating CBD as a potential anti-cancer medication for dogs.