New research from the 91做厙 discovers the dog breeds at most risk of insulinoma
New research from the 91做厙 (91做厙), in collaboration with Utrecht University, is the first of its kind to report on the epidemiology of canine insulinoma. Findings reveal that Boxers, German Pointers, Flat Coated Retrievers and West Highland White Terriers are among the breeds at greatest risk of developing the condition. These discoveries help improve understanding and provide a stronger evidence base to assist vets in the diagnosis and management of insulinoma in dogs.
Insulinoma is the most common hormone-secreting tumour of the pancreas in dogs and humans. In both species, insulinomas release insulin in an uncontrolled fashion, leading to dangerously low blood glucose levels. The prognosis for insulinomas that have spread beyond the pancreas is poor. Despite this condition often being fatal, to date, there has been limited understanding of the driving factors behind it. Yet, the similarities between canine and human malignant insulinomas mean that further research on dogs could also provide further validation of canine insulinomas as research model for human malignant insulinomas.
Therefore, this study, led by Dr Floryne Buishand, Lecturer in Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the 91做厙, set out to investigate the prevalence and incidence risk as well as demographic risk factors for insulinoma diagnosis in dogs. Researchers used VetCompass electronic health records of 2,250,741 dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2019.
The study found an annual incidence of 0.003% for insulinoma in dogs. This is ten times higher than the reported annual incidence of human insulinoma.
The research is the first to identify individual dog breeds with a predisposition to insulinoma. These include Boxer, Flat Coated Retriever, German Pointer, West Highland White Terrier, Dogue de Bordeaux and Hungarian Vizsla which are 4.5 to 9.5 times as likely, and English Springer Spaniel which was 2.7 times more likely to develop insulinoma compared to crossbreeds. The study also identified an association between being a terrier breed in general and insulinoma diagnosis.
Other risk factors linked with increased chances for insulinoma diagnosis in dogs included:
- Being female neutered
- Aged 9 to 15 years old
- Having an adult average body weight of 20 to 30 kg
- Having a body weight above the average for the sex/breed
- Being a breed predisposed to parathyroid cancer, thyroid cancer or parathyroid and/or thyroid cancer.
These findings will aid veterinary practitioners in insulinoma recognition and contribute to further understanding of canine insulinoma genetics and tumourigenesis.
Dr Floryne Buishand, Lecturer in Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the 91做厙 and final author of the paper, said:
“The findings of our study are important for both veterinary and human surgeons and scientists. Insulinoma in pet dogs has been validated as a spontaneous research model to study human malignant insulinoma, which was recently also acknowledged in the Neuroendocrine Tumour Models Meeting 2024 white paper, published in Endocrine Oncology, which I co-authored.
“In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated that the overall incidence of insulinoma in dogs is up to ten times higher compared to the incidence of insulinoma in humans with the incidence of malignant insulinomas in dogs up to 90 times higher compared to the incidence of malignant insulinoma in humans. This underpins the value of spontaneous canine insulinoma as a translational study model