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Here's your hub for staying current with the latest new news about the Canines-N-Kids Foundation, our work and related happenings.

Be sure to check back regularly to get our latest news updates.

Ulrike Szalay worked in biotech and oncology for many years and grew frustrated by the fact that there was relatively little focus on childhood and canine cancers relative to the attention paid to cancers in adult humans. Even after leaving the field, she couldn’t shake the feeling that more could and should be done for children and dogs with cancer. And in 2017, she did something about it.

Studying naturally occurring diseases and treatment in canine patients , from cancer to osteoarthritis, and perhaps even Lyme Disease can potentially benefit both pets and people.

OS Therapies, a research and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company announced today the dosing of the "First Patient In" for its lead OST-HER2 (OST31-164) program in a potentially pivotal Phase IIb clinical trial. OST-HER2 has already received Fast-Track and Orphan Designation from the EMA and FDA. The nationwide open-label trial will enroll 39 to 45 Osteosarcoma patients whose cancer has metastasized to the lungs and has been surgically resected. OST-HER2 is targeting Osteosarcoma in children and young adults, and potentially other solid tumors.OST31-164 has previously received USDA provisional approval for treatment of Osteosarcoma in canines.

One Health’s FidoCure is using genomics and AI technology to develop precision oncological treatments, and the work is benefiting human cancer research.

Grab two clean dog bowls, a can of whipped cream and your favorite canine friend and take part in something worthwhile and fun: the Canines-N-Kids Foundation’s #DogBowlChallenge to help #LickCancer!

With the end of the year and Christmas holidays quickly approaching, The Canines-N-Kids Foundation (CNK) has launched our Holiday Giving Campaign. Our goal this year is to raise $15,000 through this campaign, to fund comparative research of cancers that affect canines and children similarly, including bone and brain cancers, lymphoma and leukemia.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (known as Virginia Tech) - located in Blacksburg, Virginia - recently opened a 139,000 square foot addition to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School (VTC) in Roanoke.  The campus is “dedicated to biomedical research and training the next generation of leading biomedical scientists, while facilitating discovery-based medical education,” according to a November 12 article in the Roanoke Star.

A clinical trial looks at whether combining immunotherapy with low doses of chemotherapy can improve outcomes and quality of life for dogs—and someday people

Now you have the chance to share your passion and the mission of Canines-N-Kids with your community every time you go out! We are thrilled to announce #CrushCancer masks are available for purchase and shipping starting September 15th. This small act is a huge support and helps to create awareness of our organization and our mission.

Registration has now begun for The Canines-N-Kids Foundation’s fourth annual Two by Four Race Against Childhood and Canine Cancer. Because of the hazards surrounding group gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, this fundraising event will be held virtually this year. Participants can register [HERE] to run/walk alone or with a four-legged friend – and should complete their one-mile trek anytime between Saturday, September 12 and Monday, October 12.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peter C. Adamson, MD, Global Head, Oncology Drug Development & Lead, Pediatric Innovations Group, Sanofi, Inc., and past chair of National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported Children’s Oncology Group, will be keynoting the Canines-N-Kids Foundation’s 2nd Paws for a Cure Research Symposium. The free virtual event, co-presented with Merck and LabRoots on September 29-30, 2020, is convening superstars from pediatric and veterinary disciplines and industry to explore innovative science and accelerate progress in solving cancers shared by children and man’s best friend.

Registration is open for the 2020 Paws for a Cure Research Symposium - an all- virtual conference, which will be presented September 29th and 30th, 1:00-5:00 EDT, and will be free of charge to all attendees. Attendees will hear from leaders from the pediatric and canine cancer community  to explore innovative science, encourage more collaboration and accelerate progress in solving cancers shared by children and man’s best friend. www.pawsforacuresymposium.com

We're nearly in the "Dog Days of Summer", and in difficult and unprecedented times. Many camps and summer programs are not running, the pools are closed, and the kids are getting restless. We want to keep our children safe, yet we don’t want them to while away their precious summer days in front of the Xbox or iPhone.Canines-N-Kids Foundation's socially-distant “Barke Sale” is a wonderful educational activity and also fundraiser for that can be hosted outside, almost anywhere - and for a great cause: to help us Crush Cancer @ Both Ends of the Leash!

Project Hearts & Tails works directly with hospitals to provide support packages meant to bring comfort and hope to young cancer patients. Within each package is a copy of a beautiful children’s book written by Canines-N-Kids’ founder Ulrike Szalay, called  “We’ll Get Through This Together,” as well as a black Labrador plush toy friend.

Since social distancing means therapy dogs can't visit many hospitals, a heartwarming new initiative aims to support children fighting cancer with a cuddly stuffed animal and book to read.

CHANTILLY, Va. (WDVM) — Many of today’s cancer treatment drugs are developed for adults, but 16,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer each year. Six million canines are diagnosed with cancer every year, and Canines-N-Kids President Ulrike Szalay says some scientific studies have shown that kids and dogs have similar experiences with the disease.

Donate Project Hearts and Tails care packages online for $30 at caninesnkids.org.

In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists at the University of Missouri have helped advance a patient-specific, precision medicine treatment for bone cancer in dogs. By creating a vaccine from a dog's own tumor, scientists worked with ELIAS Animal Health to target specific cancer cells and aovid the toxic side effects of chemotherapy, while also opening the door for future human clinical trials. ...
Mizzou researchers hope to continue immunotherapy discovery with dogs in order to optimize the new therapy for future human clinical trials with the hopes of treating osteosarcoma and other cancers, especially metastatic osteosarcoma in children.

Cancer, at its simplest, begins with DNA mutations that cause uncontrolled replication of abnormal cells, resulting in tumors and illness. There is no single “cancer”: each is dependent on the cell type affected and the type of mutation that causes it, which is why there is no single cure for it either....Cancer research for dogs, such as clinical trials, done by veterinary oncologists can not only offer their patients the possibility of life extension or remission, but also allows dog owners who might otherwise be unable to afford costly treatment to provide more extensive care. Once completed, the findings from these trials can then be used to help inform human clinical trials.

Dogs have been important to humans as both companions and workers for millennia. Now, they could be vital in the search to find a cure for brain cancer.. Prof. Roel Verhaak at Jackson Laboratories in Maine has found that gliomas in dogs may help scientists better understand the complex pathology of diffuse gliomas, cancers with an extraordinarily low survival rate.

Two of our most vulnerable and precious family members have a more special bond than imagined. Every year, 16,000 children and 6 million pet dogs receive diagnoses of remarkably similar cancers. Resources to find a cure for either have been limited, but with joined forces, that could change.

Veterinary researchers and a nonprofit foundation - the Canines-N-Kids Foundation- explore similarities between cancers in dogs and children that could lead to new treatments — and possibly a cure.

New England's iconic retailer, The Black Dog company has created an adorable, durable Huggle Hound toy to benefit Canines-N-Kids Foundation's efforts to Crush Cancers kids & pups both develop. A portion of the proceeds of each "Besty" sale benefit CnK. Get yours today only on the Black Dog's website at https://bit.ly/2KydAYR

A field of study known as “comparative oncology” is emerging as a promising means to help cure cancer. Comparative oncology researchers study the similarities between naturally occurring cancers in pets and cancers in people in order to provide clues to treat cancer more effectively, and is particularly hopeful in cancers children and dogs both develop.

Our four-legged furry friends may have even more benefits than being a faithful and loving companion, as CnK's Dr. Cheryl London & team from the Tufts University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, have just uncovered that a rare bone cancer in children—known as osteosarcoma (OS)— is genetically similar in dogs. The researchers are optimistic that the findings could help break the logjam in the treatment of this deadly disease, which hasn’t seen a significant medical breakthrough in nearly three decades.

CNN reports on work of Dr. Stephen Johnston (Arizona State, Center for Innovations in Medicine) and Doug Thamm (CSU Flint Animal Cancer Center) and a clinical trial of an anti-cancer Vaccine being evaluated in about 100 canine cancer patients around the country. If it works, human patients could be next!

Dr. Kristy Richards, MD, PhD, Physician, Oncologist and Researcher in comparative lymphoma lost her own brave battle against cancer on March 30, 2019. Dr. Richards served on CnK's Medical & Scientific Advisory Board and was just recognized in November 2018 by Canines- N-Kids Foundation as the first woman recipient of the Trailblazer Award for her groundbreaking interdisciplinary work treating cancer in dogs with a goal to develop therapies for humans with lymphoma. . A brilliant researcher, Dr. Richards' energy, passion and collaborative-mindedness is an inspiration that will continue to drive our work to Crush Cancer @ Both Ends of the Leash.

May is National BARKE SALE Month! The Canines-N-Kids Foundation (CNK), a nonprofit working to put an end to the cancers kids and man’s best friend both develop, is encouraging youth across the nation to host a BARKE SALE and is providing a tool kit with step-by-step instructions.   Using the traditional bake sale model, a BARKE SALE  enables anyone, anywhere to raise awareness and funds for cancer research that can speed up the development of better medicines and a cure for both by offering tasty pet and people treats.

DOGS AREN’T CALLED ​man’s​ best friend for nothing. Our canine companions are helping researchers learn more about cancer, with the hope of providing better treatments for dogs and children. These efforts were on display at the first Paws for a Cure Research Symposium​. The meeting, held in Boston in November 2018, brought together more than 200 pediatric oncologists, veterinary oncologists, researchers and cancer survivors looking to identify and build on the commonalities between cancers that develop in children and dogs.

BOSTON, Ma. (November 14, 2018)—In search of a cure, several hundred leaders representing different aspects of the veterinary, pediatric, oncology, and the pharma industry came together for the Canines-N-Kids Foundation’s Paws for a Cure Research Symposium co-hosted by Merck at its Research Laboratories in Boston to discuss ways to accelerate cancer drug development for cancers that children and canines both develop. Canines-N-Kids Foundation is a nonprofit committed to promoting research that integrates efforts for the benefit of both kids and dogs with cancer.

CnK Advisory Board member Dr. Keila Torres is cancer surgeon at MD Anderson, and the mother of three Labrador retrievers and the author of the Sniffing for a Cure Blog and Guest Author of the CnK Blog this month, describing the devastating cancer our pets and kids share, and the efforts of the Paws for a Cure Symposium to help us Crush Cancer @ Both Ends of the Leash

At UC Davis, hundreds of dogs are participating in clinical trials of novel cancer treatments that certainly have application in animal medicine, but possibly in human medicine as well. Veterinary oncology is a field that extends animal research outside the vivarium deep into the public realm, with fascinating possibilities for human medicine.

Canines-N-Kids Foundation is hosting the Paws for a Cure Research Symposium this November at the Merck Research Laboratories in Boston. The Foundation hopes to examine challenges and progress in accelerating cancer drug development for cancers shared between children and dogs.

PhRMA Blog Highlights Canines-N-Kids Founder Executive Director, Ulrike Szalay and efforts to bring the community together to solve difficult shared childhood and canine cancers.

September is about Gold Ribbons signifying awareness in the fight against Childhood Cancer, but here at Canines-N-Kids, we are integrating our canine cancer patients with naturally occurring disease as a major ally in that fight. READ MORE...

Canines-N-Kids Foundation is co-hosting with Merck pharmaceuticals the Paws for a Cure Research Symposium ( November 12-13, 2018 at the Merck Research Laboratories in Boston) to examine challenges and progress in accelerating cancer drug development for shared cancers that children and canines both develop,

At ASCO, the largest gathering of medical oncologists and drug developers (June1-5, Chicago) CnK debuted its efforts to beat shared cancers in children and man's best friend!

People share many things with the dogs in their lives. Unfortunately, that can include a tendency to develop brain tumors. Dogs and humans are among the few species that spontaneously develop naturally occurring brain tumors. Those tumors have a lot in common, too, which has led scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to wonder whether studying tumors in dogs will help treat humans, and whether studying tumors in humans will help treat man’s best friend.

CnK Announces 2018 Two By Four Sponsorship Opportunities for September 29 Brambleton Race

Medical researchers are posing an intriguing question, could man's best friend hold a key to curing cancer?

It's a growing trend in the field of medicine where doctors are looking to dogs in finding new treatments for cancer, as they have more in common with humans than one would think.

When the littlest patients battle cancer, more hospitals are now opening their doors to specially-trained dogs in the hopes a wagging tail, soft fur and playful paws can help kids in the way conventional drugs can’t.

But how effective is animal therapy in such cases? New research by American Humane and several children’s hospitals, believed to be the first and largest randomized controlled study on the subject, had some unexpected results.

In the thousands of years they’ve been domesticated, dogs have helped humans in many ways, from herding sheep and cattle to performing search and rescue duties after disasters. Now dogs have begun aiding us in what might be the most important way yet: finding new ways to fight cancer.

Program Bakes a Way to Raise Awareness, Funds to Fight Cancers Kids & Dogs Both Develop

On the one year anniversary of Canines-N-Kids Foundation, Ulrike Szalay talks about our mission and gives a sneak peak on CnK's soon to be unveiled grassroots fund & awareness raising program, the BARKE SALE!

New research to improve the effectiveness of promising new treatments using immunotherapies – a class of therapies that use the body’s immune system to fight cancer without nasty side effects – could prove mutually beneficial to both dogs and people.

A crowd of two-legged and four-legged walkers and joggers made their way to Brambleton Town Center this morning to break a sweat for a great cause. It was the inaugural Two by Four Race Against Childhood & Canine Cancer, an event that invited pups and people to run or walk and raise funds and awareness for cutting edge research in the cancers that impact kids and dogs.

On Sunday October 1st, two and four-legged athletes will be running and walking to help crush cancer in the inaugural Two By Four Race Against Childhood & Canine Cancer. The Canines-N-Kids Foundation and Smashing Walnuts Foundation are partnering to host this timed 5k race and un-timed 1 mile Dog Jog/Fun Run. All net proceeds will support these nonprofits’ work to raise funds and awareness for cutting-edge research in the cancers that kids and pet dogs BOTH develop. The event will also feature an awards ceremony, vendor fair, and kids and pet activities.

Canines-N-Kids Foundation's Ulrike Szalay talks with WJLA's Dr. Katy Nelson about the promise of comparative oncology to help pet dogs with cancer, and ultimately also children with those same cancer.

Walk...Run...Cure...Ulrike Szalay, CnK's Executive Director & Founder speaks with Comcast's Yolanda Vasquez about comparative oncology and its promise to move the needle in some devastating cancers kids and man's best friend both develop

Researchers are looking to dogs for help in finding better treatment options for cancer in humans – particularly, children.

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