Molecular Diagnostics in Veterinary Oncology

摘要

Novel molecular diagnostics are rapidly being delivered to the field of veterinary medicine and veterinary oncology. These molecular diagnostics, most commonly applied to oncology and inflammatory conditions, have most recently emerged from the sub-discipline of pathology referred to as molecular pathology. This sub-discipline is based on the study of disease through the interrogation of molecules (often nucleic acids) within tissues or other biospecimens. These diagnostics rely less on conventionalanatomic/clinical pathology and biochemistry, and are more closely aligned with the scientific platforms of molecular biology, and genomics. Nonetheless the integration of conventional anatomic/clinical pathology skills are necessary for the successful development of such novel diagnostics, as clinically informative tests. An over-riding expectation linked to this field of molecular diagnostics is that more accurate diagnosis is possible when the diagnosis is based on the detection of the true drivers of a disease rather than cellular or biochemical responses to a driver event. This connection to a disease driver may suggest a greater opportunity to design and deliver tests beyond simple diagnostics to now include predictors of treatment response and disease progression, the susceptibility of individuals to develop specific disorders and tolerate specific medicines (pharmacogenomics). The detection of such drivers often includes molecular techniques that allows detection of disease markers in progressively smaller sample volumes and from samples with limited prospective preservation (as in, forensic pathology).