The genetic background of gastric carcinoma in the Belgian Shepherd (Tervueren and Groenendael)

Abstract

The most common neoplasm in the canine stomach is gastric carcinoma (GC). Although the overall incidence is reported to be low, GC has a high prevalence in among others longhaired Belgian Shepherd dogs (Tervueren and Groenendael varieties). Preliminary data by performing Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) showed significant differences on chromosome 11 and 18 between case and control Belgian Shepherds. These findings suggest a genetic background to the disease in these dogs. In this research, the relevant regions were further investigated by selecting 10 top SNPs on chromosome 11 and 18. KASP analysis was performed to find out if there was any difference in the frequency of these specific alleles in GC cases compared to controls. For this research, 25 new GC cases and 42 control dogs were used. No significance was found on each of the ten top SNPs. Another research goal was to see if RAD50, a gene found on chromosome 11 and responsible for the repair of mutations, had mutations in 8 gastric carcinoma cases. Also, 8 control dogs were used for this research. No mutations were found in the 25 exons of the gene in neither cases nor controls. Further research is recommended because of the high chance of genetic predisposition and poor diagnosis of the disease. When mutations have been identified, a DNA test can be developed to assist breeders in reducing the incidence of this fatal disease.