On May 23, 2022, Jaguar Health announced the launch of Canine Cancer: Take C.H.A.R.G.E. (Canine Health And ReGistry Exchange), a first-of-its-kind national Canine Cancer Registry and Canine Cancer Care Index to provide the veterinary community and dog owners with important incidence and prevalence data to help guide canine cancer diagnosis and treatment decisions. Launched on the first National Canine Cancer Awareness Day and co-sponsored by Jaguar Animal Health, TogoRun, and Ivee, the initiative will initially access information about canine cancer from two key sources: a nationally representative multi-year Gallup survey of U.S. dog owners, and a retrospective review of more than 35,000 anonymous canine patient records uploaded into a secure customized database with more than 830 confirmed cancer diagnoses.

The Gallup survey, conducted in March 2022, estimated the prevalence – the percent of U.S. dogs with cancer in 2021 – was 3.4 percent, less than the approximately 5 percent prevalence in humans that year. The survey also found that the incidence – the percent of U.S. dogs newly diagnosed with cancer in 2021 – was 2.8 percent, which is approximately five times the 0.57 percent incidence of newly diagnosed cancer in humans that year. This finding is startling since researchers have assumed that canine cancer rates mirror human cancer rates.

In addition to assessing canine cancer incidence and prevalence, and dog owners’ perceptions, emotions and experiences related to canine cancer, Gallup used data from the survey to calculate a Canine Cancer Care Index that reflects three dimensions related to canine cancer care: knowledge, quality of care, and canine comfort. Ranging from 0 (the worst possible score) to 100 (the best possible score), the Index will help assess whether canine cancer care experiences are improving, worsening, or staying the same for dog owners and their dogs over time. Gallup determined that the baseline for the Canine Cancer Care Index is 80.5 or a B-, indicating a clear need for improvement.