Expression of p-53 and Cox-2 Genes as Tumour Markers in Spontaneous Canine Mammary Tumours

Mammary neoplasms are the most frequently observed neoplasms in female dogs and constitute an important problem in veterinary medicine. The objective of this study was to investigate the p53 and Cox-2 gene expressions profile in mammary tumours of dogs of different histological types in comparison to healthy mammary tissues using quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) assay. A total of 12 cases (5 benign lesions: adenomas and benign mixed tumour and 7 malignant lesions: carcinomas and malign mixed tumour) were examined. Higher expression levels for p53 and Cox-2 genes in mammary tumour tissues were observed as compared to normal mammary tissues. Expression of both genes was relatively higher in malignant tumour than benign. These results show that p53 and Cox-2 genes may be useful tumour markers for early evaluating malignancy in canine mammary tumours.