Nationwide releases findings on cancer in dogs

Nationwide analyzed cancer claims for 1.6 million dogs insured by the company from 2015-21 and released the results in a white paper on March 8 at the WVC Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

 Among the findings, purebred dogs as a group have a higher relative risk for cancer claims than nonpurebred dogs do, at 1.9 times the relative risk.

Across the 25 most popular breeds, the top three breeds for which cancer claims were filed were Boxers, Beagles, and Golden Retrievers, and the three breeds for which the fewest cancer claims were filed were Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, and French Bulldogs.

Boxers have a high relative risk for cardiac, lymphatic, neurologic, and skin cancers. Beagles have a high relative risk for bladder, endocrine, liver, mammary, and spleen cancers. Golden Retrievers have a high relative risk for bone, cardiac, liver, lymphatic, and spleen cancers.

Among the 25 most popular breeds, the breeds with the lowest average age at first cancer claim were Great Danes (6.2 years), French Bulldogs (6.8 years), and Doberman Pinschers (7.4 years).

Skin cancer had the earliest average age for first cancer claim by body system across the 25 most popular breeds, at 8.11 years, followed by lymphatic cancer (8.57 years), bone cancer (8.61 years), and mammary cancer (8.62 years).

See the white paper on the results.