News

By Sandra Sarr, MFA

May 12, 2026

LSU Vet Med researchers are taking aim at cancer and leading a collaborative approach to discoveries for animals and people

“ ... Operating within a One Health framework, the Center strengthens Louisiana’s cancer research infrastructure while training the next generation of cancer scientists. ...”

 

“Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and yet fewer than 5% of anti-cancer drugs successfully move from pre-clinical research to become effective human therapies. Louisiana faces an especially severe cancer burden, with more than 25,000 new cases diagnosed each year and persistent health disparities affecting many communities. In the face of these urgent challenges, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is accelerating its efforts to discover effective cancer therapies in a remarkable convergence of scientific disciplines that could reshape how cancer is treated in both animals and people.

These multi-faceted efforts by world-class researchers at LSU Vet Med are expanding and building a powerful collaborative network taking aim at cancer. Backed by an $11 million federal grant awarded in 2021 and poised for Phase II, LSU Vet Med's Pre-Clinical Cancer Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) is investigating the molecular roots of how tumors form, using cutting-edge platforms like miniature lab-grown tumors built from patients' own tissue. Researchers are engineering viruses that selectively hunt and destroy cancer cells. A structural biologist is using nature-inspired peptides derived from sunflower seeds to design drugs that could outsmart lung cancer resistance. And a newly approved Center for Comparative Oncology is forming a hub connecting scientists, veterinarians, physicians, and translational researchers across LSU and partner institutions. A current clinical trial treating dogs with squamous cell carcinoma using targeted intra-tumor injections, rather than systemic chemotherapy, is already generating data that could inform future human treatments.

Work is underway to achieve the goal of National Cancer Institute designation for Louisiana that would support research that better captures the biological complexity of cancer in patients, unlock clinical trials, provide major research funding, and offer broader access to advanced cancer care.  ...”

SEE: Fighting the good fight—together

https://www.lsu.edu/vetmed/blog/2026/cancer_research.php