Canine transmissible venereal tumor: expression of MDR-1, and TP53 and BCL-2 family genes and its implications in biological and therapeutic behavior/Tumor venéreo transmissível canino: expressão dos genes MDR-1, TP53 e da família Bcl-2 e suas implicações no comportamento biológico e terapêutico/Tumor venéreo transmisible canino: expresión de los genes MDR-1, TP53 y de la familia Bcl-2 y sus implicaciones en el comportamiento biológico y terapéutico

Transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) is a neoplasm of round cells with plasmocytoid or lymphocytoid appearance. The tumor presents several particularities, which have been the subject of numerous studies; however there still have investigations that need to be done. For example, a progressive increase of highly aggressive tumors with varying response to chemotherapy -including resistance- has been evidenced in recent years. There is scientific interest to understand these differences, allowing predicting possible clinical outcomes in affected dogs and increasingly searching adequate and individualized therapy. This review focuses on presenting possible implications of the expression of MDR-1 (P-glycoprotein), TP53, BCL-2, and BAX genes, regarding resistance to chemotherapy and/or the biologic behavior of TVT.