Familial Thyroid Follicular Cell Carcinoma (FTFC)
Dogs, like humans, have a pair of thyroid glands situated on either side of their windpipe in the neck and connected together by tissue known as the isthmus. Thyroid cancers develop in these glands in dogs like humans. The thyroid cancer may affect one or both glands, and a common clinical symptom is the presence of a palpable mass in the dog's neck. Other signs include intermittent cough, alopecia, polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss.
There are several subtypes of thyroid cancer. This test is for the Familial Thyroid Follicular Cell Carcinoma (FTFC) subtype that affects the German Longhair Pointer breed.
The TPO gene has two identified mutations associated with FTFC. Dogs possessing two copies of either or both variants are at approximately 16 times greater risk of developing FTFC as compared to those who do not carry the variants. The majority of the dogs examined for this study were over the age of 10 at the time of diagnosis.
