The Purdue University researchers say the findings could lead to better understanding of breast cancer progression and prevention for people and pets. The research appears in this month's issue of the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, the university said Thursday in a release.

The study said researchers determined that because of the frequency of lesions, their association with spontaneous mammary cancer and resemblance to human lesions, dogs may be the ideal model to study human breast cancer.

"Once a lesion is identified, it can be treated with hormonal therapy if it is estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, but for low-risk and ER-negative lesions, we can't do anything but wait and watch to see if it grows into a tumor," Sulma Mohammed, a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, said. "With a dog model, we could study these lesions and test different prevention modalities before it becomes a cancer."