Siberian research treats animal tumors, aids human cancer fight

Siberian scientists have established a joint project for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant neoplasms in domestic animals. In Novosibirsk«s Akademgorodok, a powerful tomograph has been installed to examine cats, dogs, rabbits, and even mini-pigs. The animals are taken for treatment to neighboring Tomsk, where they undergo radiation therapy. NGS spoke with the project curator and a representative from the shelter that provided an elderly but vivacious cat with a difficult fate for treatment.

Modern Technologies for Pets

The ANO «Siberian Research Center for Medicine and Biotechnology» (ANO «Sibbiotech») has been assisting animals with tumors for several years, collaborating with laboratories at Novosibirsk State University (NSU), Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), and other institutes.

«Our work is primarily research-oriented, with the goal of gathering a sufficient number of successful cases of radiation therapy with neutron capture elements for tumors of various origins. Under the program, since 2021, we have been conducting radiation therapy with neutron capture application in cats and dogs with spontaneous malignant tumors. The method has been used on over 120 animals with neoplasms of various origins,» project curator Nikolai Kanygin told NGS.

The laboratory that became the predecessor of the current one was established back in 2017. The idea of neutron capture itself was developed in Japan in the 1970s, Nikolai Kanygin explained. Researchers used nuclear reactors to treat people, but since the results were ambiguous and side effects were consistent, the program was suspended.

Experiments in Siberia began when the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) started constructing an accelerator, and in Tomsk, they were able to generate a beam with sufficiently good properties. They started testing the method on cells, tissues, then on mice implanted with tumor cells. But large mammals are much closer to humans. So, together with Novosibirsk veterinary clinics, they began searching for patients among cats and dogs with spontaneous tumors.

«These tumors are identical to human ones, and from the perspective of researching beam properties and method properties, this is much more promising. We had a hypothesis that the radioprotector would accumulate selectively, destroying precisely tumor cells, and it was confirmed: tumors are destroyed. And although damage to other tissues, of course, is present, it is not as severe as with other types of radiation therapy,» emphasized Nikolai Kanygin.

Among such damages, he primarily mentioned hair loss in animals. Other changes, according to him, are rare, typical for radiation exposure, and are alleviated with standard therapy.

A Chance for Ada

One of the center«s patients became Ada, a cat from the Novosibirsk cat shelter »Heritage of Bastet.« For many years, she lived in the basement of a high-rise building in Ikskitim (a town in Novosibirsk Oblast). Novosibirsk veterinarians caught her, spayed her, and removed a mammary gland tumor.

Ada behaved aggressively, hissing and growling, so she was returned to her previous habitat: let her live in her familiar environment while being fed by a local retiree. But the woman refused, and volunteers took the cat to Novosibirsk.

Before placing her in the shelter«s care, tests were taken from Ada. It turned out that the cat has feline leukemia virus. Sometimes it leads to tumor growth, so soon she needed to have tumors removed from her mammary glands again. In total, besides sterilization, the cat underwent four more operations.

«Ada»s been cheating death for a year now. She had two operations while with us, each time we were afraid to take her: what if she couldn«t handle the anesthesia. She handled it and has now outlived four leukemia-positive cats that came to the shelter around the same time as her,» said the cat«s curator Imran Tano. — »Yes, she«s already less mobile, mostly sits on one sofa or another, goes down mainly to the toilet. And why more? Food is brought to her nose. Her appetite is consistently good, but she eats carefully, sedately, like a countess, so she»s often robbed by other cats.«

As it happened, the scientific consultant of ANO «Sibbiotech,» head of the Laboratory of Nuclear and Innovative Medicine of the Physics Department of NSU (LYAIM FF NSU) Vladimir Kanygin, came to the shelter to take a pet for himself. In October 2025, NGS told the story of the cat Perfa — she was the one who went to the scientist«s family. Ada, who had undergone her fourth tumor removal by then, impressed the researcher with her love of life, and he offered her to participate in the project for free.

In late November, a computed tomography scan was done on the cat, and besides tumors and enlarged lymph nodes, metastases were found. But Ada continued to stubbornly demand food, move independently, use the litter box, and even purr. And scientists sent her for radiation therapy with neutron capture application.

«Ada went to Tomsk, where at TPU she was irradiated. We were warned that the goal of the research is to assess the method»s effectiveness for various types of studies. Recently, she had a repeat CT. We assume that in late January the cat will go for a repeat procedure, after which doctors expect her to go into remission,« said Imran Tano. — »In any case, she has shown herself to be very resilient and has served science. Plus, not every basement cat gets a chance at cancer treatment in old age.«

Cats and dogs become patients of the center in equal proportion. Their fates continue to be monitored, and statistics are kept.

«The majority of animals demonstrate stable remission after radiation therapy, stabilization or reduction in the size of malignant neoplasms. Life expectancy has increased: usually it is no less than six months after the procedure, often longer,» noted project curator Nikolai Kanygin.

As an example, he cited a cat with an extensive facial tumor that received a verdict from veterinarians: no more than six months to live. But after irradiation, more than three years have passed, and the tailed patient is still alive. And a dog with a perianal gland tumor instead of a couple of months has been living for a couple of years.

For people, this method is not yet used in Russia: people undergo gamma therapy, which implies more sessions and carries more complications. In the future, when enough material is gathered proving the effectiveness of this therapy for different types of tumors, the experience may be transferred to humans. Although in China, such experiments are already being conducted.

CT for Pigs and Mammoths

In order to diagnose diseases, since 2023, together with the «Laboratory of Nuclear and Innovative Medicine of NSU,» specialists from ANO «Sibbiotech» have been performing tomography on animals using a CT apparatus.

«This is a latest-class tomograph, it allows obtaining images in high resolution, but, according to the license, it is used only for animals,» explained Nikolai Kanygin.

The equipment serves not only for examining cats and dogs with tumors but is also actively used by project partners. For example, in autumn 2025, mammoth tusks found in Yakutia were brought for tomographic examination. Defects found on the bone remains will be compared with defects on elephant tusks from India. In perspective, this will make it possible to track the evolution of dental diseases.

And research on the heart of a pair of mini-pigs will allow better understanding of the application of cellular technologies and improve new artificial heart valves.

«At the Meshalkin Center (E.N. Meshalkin National Medical Research Center) they are developing artificial heart valves. This research was needed, in particular, to assess how comparable their properties are to those of living hearts. And the pig was initially the closest model to humans. With the help of CT angiography, it is possible to evaluate such parameters as blood flow velocity, blood density, changes in the lumen of vessels, heart chambers, which, in fact, they were able to do thanks to our tomograph.»

In December 2025, NGS reported that an animal hospital opened in Akademgorodok. This is a new start for the already known project — «Animal Rehabilitation Base,» which operated for a long time in Koltsovo.