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Larger dogs are more prone to getting cancer young

A Cane Corso Mastiff can weigh in at 50kg Expand
The average age of diagnosis of great danes was six years Expand

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A Cane Corso Mastiff can weigh in at 50kg

A Cane Corso Mastiff can weigh in at 50kg

The average age of diagnosis of great danes was six years

The average age of diagnosis of great danes was six years

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A Cane Corso Mastiff can weigh in at 50kg

Joe Pinkstone

Mastiffs, Saint Bernards and Great Danes are the dog breeds most prone to getting cancer young, a study has found.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in adult dogs but it was not known which breeds were most susceptible to cancer. Scientists at PetDx in La Jolla, California, looked at the health records of almost 3,500 dogs with cancer.  

The average age a dog was found to have cancer was 8.8 years old, data shows, but the figures varied by breed.

Mastiffs, for example, had a median age at diagnosis of five. The average age at diagnosis for Saint Bernards and Great Danes was six.

At the other end of the scale, the median age for a Bichon Frise was 11.5 years old, the oldest of any breed. Size, the data shows, is the biggest contributing factor to a dog’s risk.

The median age at cancer diagnosis for dogs weighing 75kg or more was five years, compared to 11 years for dogs weighing 2.5 to 5kg. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2023)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2023]

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