RVC launches biobank to improve cancer care for pets
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) recently launched a dedicated Oncobiome Bank to collect and store microbiome samples from dogs and cats diagnosed with cancer. Funded by the RVC Animal Care Trust, the Oncobiome Bank is a collection of clinical samples from veterinary oncology patients including faecal microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. It will help researchers investigate the links between the intestinal microbiome, disease development, treatment responses and long-term cancer outcomes in pets, and helping improve their cancer care.
The intestinal microbiome, which is the community of bacteria and other microbes living in the gut, is becoming an increasingly important focus in human cancer research. Studies have shown that gut health can affect immune function, cancer risk, response to treatment and overall patient outcomes. While these relationships are well studied in people, far less is currently understood in dogs and cats, highlighting the need for dedicated veterinary research in this area.
The RVC’s Oncobiome Bank will store residual faecal, plasma and serum samples, collected from canine and feline cancer patients at the time of diagnosis by the RVC’s Oncology team, which handles more than 1,500 small animal cases every year.
These samples will support future DNA, RNA and metabolomic research projects, helping researchers investigate how cancer and cancer treatments may affect the gut microbiome, and whether changes in gut health could influence treatment response and recovery.
The bank will also support research into emerging approaches to oncology including dietary interventions, probiotics and faecal microbiota transplantation. Many cancers in dogs and cats share biological similarities to those seen in humans meaning these findings could inform our wider understanding of cancer and treatment responses in human medicine.
Dr Andy Yale, Lecturer in Veterinary Oncology at the RVC, said:
“I’m incredibly excited to be launching the RVC Oncobiome Bank, as the role of the microbiome in veterinary oncology is still in its infancy and represents a largely unexplored frontier. While human medicine is beginning to uncover how profoundly the microbiome can influence cancer development, treatment response and outcomes, this area remains very novel in our field.
“By establishing this resource, we aim to enable future larger-scale, clinically meaningful studies that would otherwise take years to develop and ultimately generate insights that can be translated into better care for our patients. I am very grateful to the RVC Animal Care Trust for funding this initiative.”
To the RVC’s knowledge, the Oncobiome Bank is the first dedicated veterinary oncobiome bank in the UK and Europe, providing a new platform for future comparative cancer research. It also adds to the RVC’s existing Biobanks: the Companion Animal Brain Bank (CABB) set up 2019; RVC’s Canine Pericardial Effusion Biobank (established in 2022); the RVC’s Cancer Biobank; and the SUB (subcutaneous ureteral bypass) biobank.
Notes to Editors
For more information about the RVC’s Oncobiome Bank, visit: https://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/projects/rvc-oncobiome-bank
For more information about the RVC’s Oncology service for small animals, visit:
https://rvc.uk.com/small-animal-oncology
For media enquiries, please contact:
- rvc@plmr.co.uk
- Press Line: 0800 368 9520
About the RVC
- The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.
- It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA in the USA and Canada.
- The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2026.
- The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
- The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
- The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.
