Urine Molecular Fingerprinting: exploratory study of a promising technology for detecting cancer and nonneoplastic disease in dogs.

OBJECTIVE

To describe a novel technology, Urine Molecular Fingerprinting (UMF), for analyzing the composition of urine and its application for neoplastic/nonneoplastic diseases in dogs.

METHODS

Voided urine samples from clinically healthy Bernese Mountain Dogs (n = 263), Golden Retrievers (214), West Highland White Terriers (79), German Shepherd Dogs (21), and other breeds (245). Samples were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy and computational statistics. To illustrate the clinical relevance of UMF, samples from dogs with cancer (n = 142) or nonneoplastic diseases (19) were analyzed and compared with reference UMF databases of clinically healthy dogs.

RESULTS

Breed-associated differences in UMFs were present in samples from clinically healthy Bernese Mountain Dogs, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, and West Highland White Terriers. The UMFs of purebred dogs were different from those of a cohort of mixed breed/other purebred dogs. There were no UMF differences associated with age, sex, or neutering status in Bernese Mountain Dogs. The Raman intensity profiles of UMFs from dogs with cancer or nonneoplastic diseases were different from UMFs of clinically healthy dogs.

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary, exploratory studies indicate that UMF is a promising technology for detecting cancer and nonneoplastic disease in dogs.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Urine Molecular Fingerprinting may be useful in the detection of cancer and nonneoplastic diseases in dogs. This technology could be adapted for testing in clinics, supplementing clinical, laboratory, and imaging information used for health assessments. The use of liquid biopsy technology, such as UMF, in canine cancer detection is addressed in the companion Currents in One Health by Robertson et al, JAVMA, June 2026.