Feline cancer diagnostics have long relied on the same handful of markers borrowed, often loosely, from human and canine oncology. Our 2026 study set out to ask a more basic question: what does the feline oncogenome actually look like, on its own terms?
Why cats needed their own reference
Much of veterinary oncology genetics is extrapolated from canine or human data, on the assumption that oncogenic pathways translate cleanly across species. They often don't. Tumor biology in cats has distinct patterns of prevalence and variant type, and a reference built from another species will systematically miss or misclassify what's actually happening in a feline tumor sample.
What sequencing at depth revealed
Using targeted next-generation sequencing across a cohort of feline tumor samples, our team characterized recurrent variants in genes including KIT, PDGFRA, and TP53 — mapping which mutation types show up most often in which tumor types, and at what frequency. Several of the variant patterns we observed had not been systematically documented in cats before.
What this means for clinical practice
This reference dataset is the foundation of our feline oncogene panel: a targeted NGS test built around variants we know recur in real feline tumors, rather than a panel adapted from another species' cancer biology. As we sequence more cases, the reference grows — the "better data, better outcomes" loop in practice.
Full methodology and validation data are available on request for veterinary partners, investors, and grant reviewers.
Interested in how this translates into a report you can act on? See a sample actionable report, or read more about our approach to NGS diagnostics.