CSU Animal Cancer Center

06/24/2026

Meet Summer Student Scholar: Colette Vavrus!

Having just completed her second year of veterinary school, Colette joined the Veterinary Summer Scholars Program to gain hands-on research experience and develop her skills in scientific writing and presenting.

This summer, she is working on a project exploring a DNA protein kinase inhibitor as a radiosensitizer for canine head and neck cancer. The research aims to better understand how novel therapies may enhance the effectiveness of radiation treatment for canine cancer patients.

Through this experience, Colette hopes to discover whether research is a path she would like to pursue as part of her future career while contributing to advances in veterinary oncology.

We're excited to have Colette on the team this summer and look forward to seeing where her research journey takes her! 🐾🔬

06/23/2026

Happy Clinical Trials Tuesday! We are still enrolling dogs that have been diagnosed with bladder cancer and will be treated with radiation therapy in our trial. Lapatinib is a newer oral therapy that has been used for the treatment of dogs with bladder cancer. This study is testing to see if the combination of radiation therapy with lapatinib is safe in these dogs. Learn more about this study here: https://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/clinical-trial/combination-of-lapatinib-and-fractionated-radiation-therapy-for-dogs-with-transitional-cell-carcinoma/

This bladder cancer clinical trial for dogs is designed to see if radiation therapy and chemotherapy will help dogs with bladder cancer.

06/22/2026

Smitten Smashes Cancer 💚 🐾

Smitten is a beautiful 14-year-old cat, dearly loved by her family. She's sweet and as cuddly as can be.

When her owners noticed signs of GI trouble last year, they brought her to CSU. Smitten was diagnosed with GI Lymphoma. She entered a clinical trial entitled "Pharmacokinetics of Compounded Chlorambucil in Cats with Cancer." The goal of this study is to better understand how an oral compounded chemotherapy drug, Chlorambucil, is tolerated in cats with GI lymphoma. This includes looking at how the medication is absorbed, distributed through the body, broken down, and how it fights cancer. This study offered important foundational information about the effectiveness of chemo in cats for later studies such as the one above.

Smitten graduated from the study and is doing well to this day!

06/21/2026

Meet Veterinary Summer Scholar Rui Shang! 🐾🔬

A Colorado State University alum and rising third-year DVM student, Rui joined the Veterinary Summer Scholars Program to further develop her research skills and explore how research can improve patient care.

Working in Dr. Boss's Comparative Radiation Oncology Lab, Rui's project examines how tumors and the immune system respond to radiation therapy in different models of sinonasal carcinoma. By studying changes in cytokine profiles, immune cell populations, and gene expression after radiation treatment, her work aims to deepen our understanding of why some tumors are more responsive to therapy than others.

We're grateful to have Rui as part of this year's Veterinary Summer Scholars Program and look forward to seeing where her passion for research takes her next!

06/20/2026

With love from Walter and Family ❤️ 🐾

A heartfelt thank you to Elise, Alexander, their parents, and family and friends for their incredible generosity and compassion.

As part of a service project, these inspiring teens collected funds for our patient assistance grants and created gift bags to support clients of the Flint Animal Cancer Center.

The teens did this work in honor of their dog Walter, who valiantly fought cancer at the FACC. Through the family's efforts, Walter's legacy lives on by bringing comfort, hope, and encouragement to pets and the people who love them during a challenging time.

We are deeply grateful to Elise and Alexander for turning their love for Walter into an act of kindness that will touch the lives of so many others.

06/19/2026

Roxy: Rockin' Cancer on 3️⃣ Legs!

Roxy's human wrote:

“I wanted to send a heartfelt thank you for the very generous grant for Roxy’s care. Please also share our sincere gratitude with the donors who made this gift possible.

“Roxy is not just our dog — she is family, our baby, and one of the greatest loves of our lives. When we first learned that her limp was likely something much more serious than an injury, our world changed overnight. The fear, the decisions, the travel, the appointments, and the cost of cancer care have all been overwhelming, but the compassion we have received from CSU has made this journey feel less lonely.

“This grant helped us during one of the hardest times of our lives. More than the financial support, it reminded us that there are people who truly understand how deeply our pets matter, and who are willing to help families like ours keep fighting for them.

“Roxy has been incredibly brave through everything. Even after surgery and cancer treatment, she continues to show her sweetness, her strength, and her love. She still wants to be part of everything, still enjoys being around people and dogs, and still reminds us every day why she is worth every effort.

“Thank you for helping us care for Roxy. We are truly grateful.”

Thank YOU for making stories like this possible! 💚

06/18/2026

Meet Summer Scholar: Trevor Roberts 🐾 🔬

A rising second-year veterinary student, Trevor joined the CSU Veterinary Summer Scholars Program to gain research experience and move closer to his goal of becoming a veterinary oncologist.

This summer, he is working on a retrospective study examining clinical outcomes associated with spontaneous splenic rupture in Dr. Cawley's lab. Through the project, Trevor is contributing to research that could help improve care for dogs with splenic masses while learning firsthand how research can impact patient outcomes.

We're excited to have Trevor as part of our research team this summer and look forward to seeing the impact he'll make! 🐾🔬

06/17/2026

Bandit the Miracle Pup 🐕️ 💚

Bandit's family wrote –

“In March, Bandit was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor. The tumor was completely excised, but we decided to get a second opinion from CSU. What was a normal appointment quickly turned into one of the scariest days of our lives. They found that he had a mass on his spleen and appeared to be internally bleeding. He went in for surgery the next morning and became quite unstable during the surgery. There was significant concern that he was not going to make it through the night. We raced back up to the hospital and lay with him and said our goodbyes, preparing for the worst.

“Within 24 hours, he made a complete 180 degree turn and was off all of his supportive medications and was wagging his tail and eating some!
“A week later, we got the unfortunate news that the mass on his spleen was, in fact, hemangiosarcoma. He began his chemotherapy treatment and has been a rockstar all throughout! He just had his mid-treatment scans and has no evidence of disease!

“Bandit truly is our miracle pup, and we are endlessly grateful for the support from the grant.”

Thanks to your gift to Patient Assistance Grants at the FACC, best friends like Bandit can get the care they need. Make more miracles happen: https://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/give-to-patient-assistance/

06/16/2026

Happy Clinical Trials Tuesday! This is Babette, or as we like to call her, Princess Babette🫅 She is enrolled in one of our clinical trials and we just absolutely love her. Which crown do you think suits her best? Put your response in the comments!

06/15/2026

New Research Alert: Feline Focus! 🐈️

From Tummy Trouble to Cancer: Tracking How Intestinal Disease and Cancer May Be Related

Chronic intestinal disease is common in cats, especially as they get older. Many affected cats experience ongoing vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss. In most cases, these cats are diagnosed with either inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or a type of intestinal cancer called lymphoma.

Early research has indicated that these two conditions may be connected, with some cats developing lymphoma after first having IBD. This study aims to better understand if — and how — that progression happens.

This project is entitled, "Tracking Malignant Transformation in the Feline Intestine: From Chronic Inflammation to T Cell Lymphoma." Drs. Emily Rout and Jenna Burton are the lead co-Principal Investigators. They will be joined by Drs. Craig Webb and Anne Avery on their quest to better understand the intermingling of these two conditions and how to prevent them.

To do this, the research team will follow cats diagnosed with IBD and collect new intestinal samples 6–12 months after their initial diagnosis. They will examine the tissue for microscopic and genetic changes that may show whether the disease is progressing toward lymphoma.

The study will also look for clues that help predict:

🐾 Which cats are most likely to develop lymphoma from IBD
🐾 If they develop cancer, which cats are most likely to respond well to treatment

By learning more about how intestinal inflammation can turn into cancer, researchers hope to improve how veterinarians monitor, treat, and potentially prevent lymphoma in cats with chronic intestinal disease.