Researchers at the University of California, Davis have conducted a study to determine why some Golden Retrievers live longer when 65% of Golden Retrievers die at a younger age from cancer.

By studying dogs that lived longer rather than studying the cancer itself, they found a gene in the family of proteins that increased the life of Goldens by two years. This gene is also important in human cancer.

The researchers studied dogs that were alive at 14 years of age and those that died before 12 years of age. This finding is just one piece of the puzzle and more research needs to be done, but like many studies that involve animals, it will benefit people as well. It may also help other breeds of dogs who develop cancer.

Journal Reference:

1. Robert B. Rebhun, Daniel York, Flora M. D. De Graaf, Paula Yoon, Kevin L. Batcher, Madison E. Luker, Stephanie Ryan, Jamie Peyton, Michael S. Kent, Joshua A. Stern, Danika L. Bannasch. A variant in the 5′UTR of ERBB4 is associated with lifespan in Golden Retrievers. GeroScience, 2023; DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00968-2

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University of California – Davis. “Can golden retrievers live longer?.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 October 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231019151809.htm>.