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Abstract Background Guidelines‐driven screening protocols for early cancer detection in dogs are lacking, and cancer often is detected at advanced stages. Hypothesis/Objectives To examine how cancer typically is detected in dogs and whether the addition of a next‐generation sequencing‐based “liquid biopsy” test to a wellness visit has the potential to enhance cancer detection. Animals Client‐owned dogs with definitive cancer diagnoses enrolled in a clinical validation study for a novel blood‐based multicancer early detection test. Methods Retrospective medical record review was performed to establish the history and presenting complaint that ultimately led to a definitive cancer diagnosis. Blood samples were subjected to DNA extraction, library preparation, and next‐generation sequencing. Sequencing data were analyzed using an internally developed bioinformatics pipeline to detect genomic alterations associated with the presence of cancer. Results In an unselected cohort of 359 cancer‐diagnosed dogs, 4% of cases were detected during a wellness visit, 8% were detected incidentally, and 88% were detected after the owner reported clinical signs suggestive of cancer. Liquid biopsy detected disease in 54.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 49.5%‐59.8%) of patients, including 32% of dogs with early‐stage cancer, 48% of preclinical dogs, and 84% of dogs with advanced‐stage disease. Conclusions/Clinical Importance Most cases of cancer were diagnosed after the onset of clinical signs; only 4% of dogs had cancer detected using the current standard of care (i.e., wellness visit). Liquid biopsy has the potential to increase detection of cancer when added to a dog's wellness visit.

Abstract Background Sampling from a peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) might be a more efficient and less traumatic collection of blood for serum biochemistry (SB) or CBC than direct venipuncture (DV). Agreement between results of samples obtained by these methods has not been evaluated in dogs. Objectives The primary objectives were to determine whether sampling from PIVC could be used in place of DV for dogs. We hypothesized DV and PIVC samples would have clinically equivalent SB and CBC results. Animals Sixty‐one client‐owned dogs were included in each study arm. Methods This was a partially randomized method‐comparison study. Paired DV and PIVC samples obtained within 1 to 2 minutes after, or approximately 24 hours after, placement of a PIVC in a cephalic vein were evaluated for agreement and bias using percentage difference plots (with a priori application of consensus total allowable error), Bland‐Altman analysis, Passing‐Bablok regression analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and McNemar's test. Results There was statistically and clinically acceptable agreement and no bias between sampling methods for the majority of results. Analytes with the most frequent disagreement were aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, potassium, bicarbonate, and leukocyte differential counts, as well as red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and packed cell volume in the hospitalized PIVC sampling group. Few observed differences would change clinical decision making. Conclusions and Clinical Importance PIVC sampling can provide generally acceptable SB and CBC results for most dogs, but clinicians should be aware of a few values for which disparate results might occasionally be obtained.

Abstract Background Liver disease is frequently cited as a cause of gastroduodenal ulceration (GDU) in dogs but studies regarding GDU and liver disease are limited. Objectives To document the presence of GDU in dogs with liver disease. Animals Forty dogs that underwent liver biopsy, computed tomographic (CT) angiography or both at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital to diagnose congenital or acquired liver disease. Methods Cross‐sectional study. Dogs had gastroduodenoscopy performed with photographic and video documentation in a standardized fashion. Lesions (hemorrhage, erosions, ulcers) in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were scored based on a grading scale. Presence of esophageal varices was recorded. Dogs were categorized into 4 groups according to cause of liver disease (inflammatory disease, cirrhosis, congenital, other). Presence or absence of ulcers, erosions or both as well as total endoscopic scores were compared among groups. Results Forty dogs were enrolled with the following distribution: 13 congenital, 13 inflammatory, 3 cirrhosis, and 11 other. Four dogs had GDU (10%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3%‐24%) and 6 dogs had erosions (15%; 95% CI, 6%‐30%). No difference was found in total endoscopic score (P = .21) or in the proportion of dogs with ulcers, erosions or both versus those without (P = .25) among the groups. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Gastroduodenal ulceration was found in 10% of dogs with liver disease in this population. Additional studies are warranted to confirm these findings in larger numbers of dogs with specific disease etiologies.

Abstract Background Concurrent exocrine pancreatic dysfunction and decreased pancreatic organ size are common findings in various stages of human type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is incompletely described in diabetic dogs. Objective To compare canine trypsin‐like immunoreactivity (cTLI) of diabetic dogs with that of healthy controls. A secondary aim was to evaluate the correlation between duration of DM and cTLI. Animals Thirty client‐owned diabetic dogs and thirty client‐owned control dogs. Methods Cross‐sectional study. Diabetic and healthy control dogs were included if they had no clinical evidence of pancreatitis and if serum samples obtained after food was withheld were available. Serum cTLI was measured at a reference laboratory and compared between groups. Canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (cPLI) was analyzed concurrently as an indicator of pancreatitis. Results The median cTLI concentration in all diabetic dogs (36.4 μg/L [range, 7.0‐288 μg/L]) did not differ from control dogs (28.7 μg/L [range, 12.8‐58.6 μg/L]) (P = .07; difference −7.8 μg/L [95% Confidence Interval (CI), −23.5 to 0.6 μg/L]). There was still no difference in cTLI between groups after exclusion of dogs with cPLI consistent with pancreatitis (n = 8 diabetic dogs). There was no correlation between cTLI and DM duration in all diabetic dogs (r = −0.07, [95% CI, −0.43 to 0.3], P = .7). Conclusions and Clinical Importance There was no evidence of EPI as evaluated using cTLI in this cohort of diabetic dogs, but concurrent increases in cPLI suggest cTLI might not be the optimal indicator of exocrine pancreatic dysfunction in dogs with DM.