HELP NEEDED
for
Purdue Bladder Cancer Study

Introduction

The Purdue University Oncology Team, headed by Dr Deborah Knapp, has begun to collect data for the Scottie Bladder Cancer study and needs your help right away!

This study will consist of two groups of Scotties: the "Cases", or those affected with Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC), and the "Controls", those not affected with TCC. This study will involve a comparison of the two groups of Scotties with respect to several potential risk factors in the environment, including but not limited to foods, water supply, drug use, insecticide use, and second hand smoke. The Purdue Team needs to hear from anyone who is willing and able to participate in this study and whose dog meets certain criteria to be included in either group.

Important note: This study will involve your time only in carefully answering a very detailed and confidential questionnaire. Nothing will be required of your Scottie, and your dog can be included even if he or she is no longer alive.

Cases: To be included as a case in the study, your Scottie has to have been diagnosed with TCC between the dates of January 1, 1995 up to the present time. This diagnosis has to have been made from a tissue biopsy by a lab and a copy of the pathology report will be requested. If the diagnosis was made from cells collected in urine or from a needle aspirate (a diagnosis by cytology), the Purdue team would still like to hear from you. Only one TCC case dog per household can be included.

Controls: To be included as a control, a Scottie must have turned 6 years or older within the time frame listed above and cannot have had any history of urinary tract problems of any kind, including TCC, urinary tract infections, bladder stones, or any prostate disorder. 

(Note: Intact male Scotties normally have a prostate up to 4 times larger than other breeds, so prostate size in itself, with no clinical signs, is not a reason for exclusion from the study). 

Only one control dog per household can be included, and a control and a case cannot be from the same household.

The Purdue team is requesting that up to 50 Cases and 100 Controls be submitted, so the Scottie community needs to step up to bat for the health of all Scotties!

If you now have or have had a Scottie that meets the criteria for inclusion in either of the two groups, and if you are willing to participate by carefully filling out a detailed and confidential questionnaire, please contact the Purdue team member listed below as soon as possible. You will need to submit the following preliminary information:

• Your name, address, phone number and e-mail address;
• Your Scottie's name and age;
• The date of diagnosis (approximate);
• The method of diagnosis (biopsy, cytology); and
• The name and contact information of your veterinarian.

If you are including one of your Scotties in this study as a "Case" or "Control" and know of another Scottie that would qualify as another Case or a Control, please submit the name(s) of the owner(s) so the Purdue researchers can make contact.

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