Nate Baker

Chawkat 3

Independent Research GT

7 December 2017

Perfect Annotated bib

Bracha, Shay, et al. "A Multiplex Biomarker Approach for the Diagnosis of
Transitional Cell Carcinoma from Canine Urine." ​US National Library of
​Medicine National Institutes of Health​, NCBI, 2 Apr. 2014,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874471/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.

“A Multiplex Biomarker Approach for the Diagnosis of Transitional Cell Carcinoma

from Canine Urine” discusses an experiment using a liquid chromatography tandem mass

spectrometry to find protein biological markers unique to dogs with Transitional Cell Carcinoma.

TCC is the most common bladder cancer in dogs, but it is usually diagnosed in its late stages

when it is very hard to surgically remove or use chemotherapy so it has a very low survival rate.

Some breeds of dogs are genetically predisposed to TCC, but others get TCC from years of

mutations caused by carcinogens such as pesticides or second hand smoke. In addition, TCC is

sometimes non-symptomatic in its early stages. Surgical biopsies are invasive and can risk

cancer spreading, while other screening is not specific enough to diagnose specifically TCC. For

these 3 reasons TCC is a very tricky cancer to diagnose because if there is not sufficient evidence

to have a surgical biopsy there is no reason to risk it. ​An experiment was run where 4 dogs had

TCC, 4 were healthy, and 4 had Urinary tract infections to find protein biomarkers unique to the

TCC group. They healthy group was a control, the TCC group was the experiment group, and the

UTI group was there to make sure the biomarkers were really unique to the TCC group because

UTI and TCC have similar symptoms and can cause misdiagnosis. Using a ​liquid
chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, which analyzes what proteins are in the urine

samples, 96 proteins were found to be unique to the TCC group of dogs. This experiment had an

accuracy 90%. 4 of those proteins which are most significant in the development of TCC are

macrophage capping protein, peroxiredoxin 5, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B,

and apolipoprotein A1. In conclusion, if any 4 of those proteins are repeatedly present in a dog's

urine after multiple tests it is safe to assume the dog has TCC or a surgical biopsy is worth the

risk.

“A Multiplex Biomarker Approach for the Diagnosis of Transitional Cell Carcinoma

from Canine Urine” is a reliable source because it has great authority, currency, objectivity,

coverage, and accuracy. The author, Shay Bracha, has authority on the topic of animal cancer

diagnosis because he has 3 degrees in oncology (study of cancer), Is a professor at the veterinary

college of Oregon State University, and graduated from the ​American College of Veterinary

Internal Medicine. This was published in April 2014 so it is current on this topic. This source can

be corroborated. For example, “MicroRNA profiling of dogs with transitional cell carcinoma of

the bladder using blood and urine samples” also says biological protein biomarkers unique to

TCC can prove its existence specifically rather than a Urinary Tract Infection. This article is

objective because it lacks bias and is appropriate for its audience. This source was made for

collegiate level scholars studying cancer diagnosis in dogs and it is appropriate because it gives

enough information in order for it to be understandable for a person with knowledge on this topic

and complex enough information for these scholars to actually gain knowledge from it. Finally,

though this source does not have a broad source of information, it is suitable because it is such a

specific topic that a very detailed explanation on only protein biomarkers found in dogs with
TCC is sufficient. For example, it goes into a huge amount of depth about how biomarkers found

in the urine of solely in dogs with TCC can be used in its diagnosis so it has appropriate

coverage on this topic.