Environment and Cancer

Early in life, Chieko Azuma, clinical associate professor in clinical sciences, knew early in life that she would need to leave her home in Japan to pursue her interest in science. Her goal was to become a become a veterinarian, scientist, and professor like her older brother. After working at several universities, Azuma came to K-State University in 2019 as a radiation oncologist at the K-State Veterinary Health Center.

Radiation therapy is one form of cancer treatment for human and veterinary patients. Azusa explains that dogs develop spontaneous cancer, cancer that develops without an inherited risk. “Humans and dogs, share environments inside and out. One of my research interests is the environmental effect on cancer.” Azuma emphasized that environmental cancers would be spontaneous cancer, without a genetic risk of cancer such as carcinoma and thyroid cancers. She continued “Dogs are remarkably close to the ground. They eat and drink anything on the ground, even dirt. Perhaps looking at the environmental exposure, might provide valuable information.”

Thyroid cancer and some carcinomas utilize systemic therapy in which radioactive substances are ingested or injected and then travel to the appropriate location in the body. Azuma believes these more advanced radiotherapy technologies provide opportunities for safer and more effective cancer treatments and will create opportunities to treat advanced and disseminated cancer with long-term control. It is critical to allow the radiation to maximize tumor damage without damaging critical organs of the body.

Across Kansas, farmers use different chemicals and provide Azuma multiple distinct areas to study the environment and cancer. Azuma and her collaborators plan to assess chemical concentrations in the soil and water in Kansas and compare the results to other locations such as the northeast states. They also will perform genetic analysis to see if cancer is similar in animals versus humans. “We will look at patterns in different geological locations that have contaminates of various salts for instance. Looking at different areas and at the cancer incidence in those areas with dogs and humans, which would be enlightening.” Azuma would like to continue to study environmental effects with dogs and humans. Together, these studies will determine if dog nasal tumors link to environmental exposures in different locations

Lastly, Azuma is looking at measuring pain. “When I apply radiation therapy, I want to see an improvement. The clinical assessments for pain can be difficult. We measure their clinical improvement by looking at their weight distribution, movement, and diet. We also have Fitbit technology for the animals to wear. These are complex and can be hard to analyze the data.” When the data is collected, she will collaborate with a statistic professional to analyze in more detail.

Cancer treatments that are beneficial in dogs frequently can be rapidly moved into human medicine. Thus, these studies are critical as emerging treatments for companion animals benefit both veterinary and human patients