For thousands of years, human bodies evolved for a lifespan of roughly 35 years, while ancestral dogs were built for just three or four. Modern nutrition, shelter, and hygiene have dramatically reshaped those timelines: humans now live twice as long, and our canine companions live three to four times longer than nature originally planned.

As Jaime Modiano explained in a recent seminar, "We were designed as a Ford Escort and we're trying to perform as a Honda. And it doesn't quite work as well." In these bonus years of extended lifespan—unforeseen by natural selection—both dogs and humans face a steep surge in age-associated cancers as our bodies operate far past their original biological warranties.

This shared evolutionary dilemma offers a radical new perspective for veterinary oncology. Modiano emphasizes that "cancer risk and cancer development is not simply bad cells. It's an interaction between altered cells and an aging or a frail host environment." Potentially malignant cells exist in young dogs and humans alike, but robust, youthful tissues actively keep them suppressed.

As we age, immune defenses decline and tissue structures break down, shifting the internal environment from cancer-resistant to cancer-permissive. Where conventional diagnostics wait to hunt down established tumors—a stage where treatments are difficult and physically taxing on both pets and humans—Modiano’s strategy focuses on detecting this permissive risk state long before a visible tumor forms.

Modiano's team is pioneering a "test-and-intervene" model using liquid biopsies (including in the the Shine On, COED, and LyRA projects) designed to read biological risk signals in dogs. Instead of searching for hidden tumor cells, these specialized blood tests analyze cellular and molecular signals to identify when a dog's internal environment has shifted toward high risk. In feasibility trials, delivering targeted, short-term therapies to high-risk dogs successfully reset their biological profiles back to a safe, low-risk state—effectively intercepting cancer before a tumor could ever take root. Far from chasing unattainable immortality, the goal is promoting graceful aging and extending healthspan across species.

As the Alvin and June Perlman Endowed Chair of Animal Oncology and Director of the Animal Cancer Care and Research Program at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Jaime Modiano brings over 30 years of research expertise across comparative oncology, immunology, and cancer biology.

His presentation below is part of the Research, Innovation, Discovery, and Education (RIDE) Seminar Series, an ongoing forum for cutting-edge exploration and discussion of veterinary research. Watch the recording to explore Modiano's full talk on how studying dogs is revolutionizing our understanding of cancer, aging, and evolution, or browse the RIDE Seminar Series archive to discover more innovative research.