The oncogenome of the domestic cat

Science 2026 Open access

Read full text
Authors: Bailey A. Francis, Latasha Ludwig, Chang He, Melanie Dobromylskyj, Christof Bertram, Heike Aupperle‐Lellbach, Hannah Wong, Aiden Foster, Mark J Arends, Alejandro Suárez-Bonnet, Simon L. Priestnall, Laetitia Tatiersky
+15 more Fernanda Castillo-Alcala, Angie Rupp, Arlene Khachadoorian, Eda Parlak, Marine Inglebert, Shevaniee Umamaheswaran, Saamin Cheema, Martin Del Castillo Velasco-Herrera, Kim Wong, Ian Vermes, Jamie Billington, Sven Rottenberg, Geoffrey A. Wood, David J. Adams, Louise van der Weyden
DOI: 10.1126/science.ady6651
Cited by: 5
References: 150

Abstract

Cancer is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in domestic cats. Because the mutational landscape of domestic cat tumors remains uncharacterized, we performed targeted sequencing of 493 feline tumor–normal tissue pairs from 13 tumor types, focusing on the feline orthologs of ~1000 human cancer genes. TP53 was the most frequently mutated gene, and the most recurrent copy number alterations were loss of PTEN or FAS or gain of MYC . By identifying 31 driver genes, mutational signatures, viral sequences, and tumor-predisposing germline variants, our study provides insight into the domestic cat oncogenome. We demonstrate key similarities with the human oncogenome, confirming the cat as a valuable model for comparative studies, and identify potentially actionable mutations, aligning with a “One Medicine” approach.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Veterinary Oncology Research Human-Animal Interaction Studies Veterinary Medicine and Surgery

Publication details

Journal / source
Science
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Volume
391
Issue
6787
Pages
793–799
Publication date
19 February 2026
Language
EN