Anna Hielm-Björkman

Introduction: Canine inflammatory mammary carcinoma (IMC) is a highly aggressive neoplasm characterized by rapid clinical progression, high metastatic potential, and poor prognosis. Increasing evidence suggests that systemic redox imbalance, resulting from a disproportion between reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defenses, plays a key role in tumor progression. This study evaluated serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as systemic biomarkers of redox status in female dogs with IMC and non-inflammatory mammary tumors (NIMTs). Methods: Serum TAC and MDA levels were measured in 49 female dogs aged 8–18 years. The cohort included dogs with IMC ( n = 20) and dogs with NIMTs ( n = 29), the latter subdivided into aggressive tumors ( n = 11) and low-grade tumors ( n = 18). Biomarker levels were compared among groups and correlated with clinical aggressiveness and overall survival. Results: Systemic redox imbalance was significantly more pronounced in dogs with IMC. Serum MDA levels were markedly higher in the IMC group (3558.9 nmol/mL) than in dogs with aggressive (53.3 nmol/mL) or low-grade tumors (48.3 nmol/mL) ( p < 0.001). In contrast, TAC levels were significantly lower in the IMC group (9.8 mmol/L) compared with the aggressive (14.0 mmol/L) and low-grade groups (12.6 mmol/L) ( p < 0.001). Survival analysis confirmed the extremely poor prognosis associated with IMC, with a median survival of 16 days and 100% mortality, whereas 94.4% of dogs with low-grade tumors survived until the study endpoint (698 days). Higher MDA levels were strongly associated with shorter survival and greater clinical aggressiveness in IMC cases (p < 0.001). Discussion: These findings demonstrate that systemic redox imbalance is closely associated with the rapid progression and poor survival observed in canine IMC. Serum TAC and MDA may serve as valuable prognostic biomarkers and support the relevance of oxidative stress as a potential therapeutic target in aggressive mammary neoplasms. These results may also have comparative implications for human oncology.

In this Connexions essay, we advance a multispecies research agenda for theorizing well-being within Organization Studies (OS). Research must urgently move beyond the bounded human subject to consider the power-laden, relational, and interconnected multispecies dynamics through which everyday well-being practices, and their absences, are (re)produced within organizational practices. As an interdisciplinary team of scholars from Animal Organization Studies, Anthrozoology, Veterinary medicine, and Social Health Sciences, we expand the traditional anthropocentric scope in OS to include humans’ relationality and mutual vulnerability with the health and well-being of animals and nature. We critique the neglect of these intimately interconnected relationships in dominant OS well-being theorizing and aim to expand the current discourse. Thus, we endorse a multispecies well-being approach of One Welfare from veterinary and animal health sciences, which recognizes the intricate interdependencies between health, welfare, and, ultimately, the well-being of humans, animals, and broader ecosystems. As such, it offers a more holistic framework for addressing community well-being, particularly in contexts that rely on working animals. To demonstrate the state of the art in the OS discourse, we examine publications on well-being in Organization to offer insights on limitations in terms of multispecies inclusivity in the current literature. We argue that focusing on human well-being apart from interconnected well-being of animals and nature creates a theoretical gap to understand the practice-based relational impacts, such as in multispecies work. Our contribution is to highlight these limitations and extend the One Welfare lens that sees human well-being as interlinked to other species into OS.

Research based on the similarities between canine and human mammary tumors should extend beyond clinical, pathophysiological, epidemiological, and histopathological characteristics to include applicable molecular markers with prognostic significance. However, despite shared similarities, important differences must also be considered in comparative and translational studies. The nuclear erythroid 2-related factor (NRF2), a nuclear transcription factor that regulates the expression of antioxidant proteins, is pathologically activated during carcinogenesis. The role of NRF2 in human breast cancer is well established, making it a potential prognostic marker. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate NRF2 tissue expression in mammary neoplasms of female dogs and its association with tumor progression, other prognostic factors, and survival. Methods: A group of 57 female dogs was studied. Tissue samples of mammary glands from 10 healthy dogs and 47 dogs with mammary neoplasms (39 malignant tumors and 8 benign tumors) were examined for NRF2 immunoexpression. Clinicopathological data and immunohistochemical expression, assessed by histochemical score (H-score), were correlated. Results: NRF2 tissue expression showed a predominantly cytoplasmic distribution and a lower H-score in tumors with higher malignancy grading. Dogs with higher NRF2 H-scores had improved survival rates (p = 0.0036). Univariate analysis revealed significant associations between H-scores < 135 and behavior (p = 0.007), tumor size (p = 0.001), and Ki-67 index (p = 0.018). Conclusions: These results suggest that NRF2 also holds prognostic value in the evaluation of canine mammary tumors.

Background: Infrared thermography (IRT) is a noninvasive imaging technique increasingly applied in medical fields, including breast cancer detection. Hypothesis/Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of IRT in assessing the biological behavior and progression of canine mammary tumors (CMTs) and to investigate associations with routine prognostic factors. Animals: Eighty-one female companion dogs were enrolled, including 17 healthy controls and 64 dogs with 80 mammary tumors (MTs), which were categorized as benign (n = 9), low-grade malignant (n = 30), or moderate- to high-grade malignant (n = 41). Methods: This prospective comparative cohort study qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated thermographic images by analyzing the distribution of white pixels (WPs), red pixels (RPs), and yellow pixels (YPs) based on surface temperature. Thermal symmetry, vascular patterns, and necrotic areas were assessed, as well as their correlation with tumor malignancy and survival. Results: Control dogs showed symmetrical mammary thermal patterns, whereas MT dogs exhibited asymmetries associated with vascularization and necrosis. Benign tumors had a higher WP distribution, whereas high-grade malignancies showed a significantly increased RP distribution. An RP threshold of 16.9% differentiated tumors by aggressiveness. Dogs with >16.9% RPs had shorter survival (P = .004). RP distribution correlated with the malignancy grade (P = .003). Conclusions and clinical importance: IRT identified thermal patterns linked to tumor aggressiveness and survival in dogs with CMTs, indicating that it is a valuable, noninvasive tool for initial evaluation, surgical planning, and prognostic assessment in CMT.

Dogs’ (Canis lupus familiaris) sense of smell is based on a unique anatomy and physiology that enables them to find and differentiate low concentrations of odor molecules. This ability is exploited when dogs are trained as search, rescue, or medical detection dogs. We performed a three-part study to explore the scent detection threshold of 15 dogs to an in-house-made Eucalyptus hydrolat. Here, decreasing concentrations of the hydrolat were tested using a three-alternative forced-choice method until the first incorrect response, which defined the limit of scent detection for each tested dog. Quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to identify and measure the contents of ten commercial Eucalyptus hydrolats, which are used in a dog scent training sport called “nose work”. In this study, the dogs’ limit of detection initially ranged from 1:10⁴ to 1:10²³ but narrowed down to 1:10¹⁷–1:10²¹ after a training period. The results show that, with training, dogs learn to discriminate decreasing concentrations of a target scent, and that dogs can discriminate Eucalyptus hydrolat at very low concentrations. We also detected different concentrations of eucalyptol and lower alcohols in the hydrolat products and highlight the importance of using an identical source of a scent in training a dog for participation in canine scent sport competitions and in olfactory research.

Pain assessment is of paramount importance for properly managing dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) pain. The aim of the present study was to develop and psychometrically validate the Italian version of the Helsinki Chronic Pain Index (I-HCPI). Owners of OA painful (n = 87) and healthy dogs (n = 40) were administered the I-HCPI once or twice after an eight-week meloxicam treatment. Sixty-nine owners of healthy and OA dogs also completed the Italian version of the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (I-CBPI). Pain on palpation on a 0–4 scale was assessed on all recruited dogs. Construct validity was tested both with hypothesis testing and principal component analysis, confirming the I-HCPI accurately measured chronic pain. Good convergent and criterion validity were shown through correlations with I-CBPI subscores and distribution among pain on palpation scores (p < 0.0001). The significant difference between the pre- and post-treatment I-HCPI scores (p < 0.0001) and Cohen’s effect size (2.27) indicated excellent responsiveness. The I-HCPI was shown to be reliable through communalities (range 0.47–0.90) and Cronbach α (≥0.95). Discriminative ability and cut-off point, as tested through Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis, showed excellent diagnostic accuracy with a threshold value of 11 (specificity 0.98 and sensitivity 0.94). The I-HCPI was confirmed to be a valid, sensitive, reliable, and accurate tool to discriminate between dogs with and without pain.

Background: Altered trace element status is associated with epilepsy in humans and dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE). Objectives: Compare hair element concentrations in epileptic and healthy dogs. Animals: Sixty-three dogs with IE (53 treated, 10 untreated) and 42 controls. Methods: Case-control study using ICP-MS to determine hair calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, selenium, chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, and nickel concentration. Groups were compared using nonparametric tests. Results were controlled for diet, sex, age, and hair color using generalized linear mixed models. Results: Compared to healthy controls, dogs with IE had lower hair phosphorus (mean ± SD; IE: 286.19 ± 69.62 μg/g, healthy: 324.52 ± 58.69 μg/g; P = .001), higher hair copper (IE: 10.97 ± 3.51 μg/g, healthy: 8.41 ± 1.27 μg/g; P < .001), zinc (IE: 158.25 ± 19.64 μg/g, healthy: 144.76 ± 32.18 μg/g; P < .001), copper/zinc ratio (IE: 0.07 ± 0.02, healthy: 0.06 ± 0.01; P = .003), selenium (IE: 1.65 ± 0.43 μg/g, healthy: 0.94 ± 0.73 μg/g; P < .001), and arsenic (IE: 0.40 ± 0.78 μg/g, healthy: 0.05 ± 0.08 μg/g; P < .001). When comparing treated and untreated epileptic dogs with healthy dogs, the differences in phosphorus and selenium remained significant for both groups, whereas the differences in copper, zinc, and arsenic were significant only for treated dogs. Potassium bromide treatment was strongly associated with high hair arsenic (P = .000). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Altered trace element status could be involved in the pathophysiology of IE in dogs. Antiseizure drugs might affect trace element and arsenic metabolism.

This prospective study aimed to evaluate the effect of metronomic cyclophosphamide on carboplatin’s tolerability, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics in dogs with mammary carcinoma. Sixteen female dogs with mammary carcinoma were divided into groups: 300 mg/m² intravenous (i.v.) carboplatin therapy (G1 = 8) or 300 mg/m² i.v. carboplatin which was associated with 12.5 mg/m² oral cyclophosphamide in a metronomic regimen (G2 = 8). The investigated animals underwent a clinical evaluation, a mastectomy, a carboplatin chemotherapy, and serial blood sampling for the pharmacokinetic analysis. The adverse events and survival rates were monitored. A non-compartmental analysis was applied to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters of carboplatin in the 2nd and 4th chemotherapy cycles. Carboplatin PK showed high interindividual variability with a 10-fold variation in the area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) in G1. The systemic plasma exposure to carboplatin was equivalent in both of the treatments considering the AUC and maximum plasma concentration (C_max) values. Although the red blood cells (p < 0.0001), platelets (p = 0.0005), total leukocytes (p = 0.0002), and segmented neutrophils (p = 0.0007) were reduced in G2, the survival rate increased (p = 0.0044) when it was compared to G1. In conclusion, adding low daily doses of cyclophosphamide to a carboplatin therapy showed promising outcomes in female dogs with mammary tumors.

Dog agility is associated with a risk for sport-related injuries, but few risk factors for injury are known. A retrospective online questionnaire was used to collect data on 864 Finnish competition-level agility dogs—including 119 dogs (14%) with agility-related injury during 2019. Data included injury details, health background, experience in agility, and sport and management routines prior to the injury. Risk factors for injury were evaluated with multivariate logistic regression. The rate of competition-related injuries was 1.44 injuries/1000 competition runs. The front limb was injured in 61% of dogs. In 65% of dogs, the injury presented as lameness. The main risk factors for agility-related injury during 2019 were multiple previous agility-related injuries (OR 11.36; 95% CI 6.10–21.13), older age when starting course-like training (OR 2.04 per one year increase; 95% CI 1.36–3.05), high training frequency, diagnosis of lumbosacral transitional vertebra, and physiotherapy every two to three months compared with never. The most important protective factors were moderate competition frequency and A-frame performance technique. These associations do not confirm causality. We identified new risk factors for injury in agility. This information can be used to improve the welfare of agility dogs.