Australian Companion Animal Registry of Cancers

The Australian Companion Animal Registry of Cancers (ACARCinom) is Australia’s first national registry of cat and dog cancers, backed by real-time data.

ACARCinom aims to make a positive impact on cancer research for our pets. Having reliable data is crucial for understanding the patterns of cancer and for evaluating treatments in both animals and humans.

Cancer is a major cause of death in animals and humans. Cancer data is needed to:

provide clinical and epidemiological evidence
guide best practices in animal cancer care
evaluate the treatment programs
help drive research and reduce cancer burdens.

With the ACARCinom Dashboard, researchers can:

uncover valuable insights about cancer risks and trends
identify factors that predispose animals to cancer
develop better practices for animal cancer care.

The project also seeks to connect with existing human cancer registries, allowing for comparative studies that benefit both fields.

ACARCinom has the potential to reveal connections between certain cancers in animals and environmental factors that may also impact humans.

By analysing the ACARCinom data asset, we can:

pinpoint shared cancer hotspots
uncover crucial information that guides preventive measures
facilitate population-level screening and onco-epidemiological analysis.

With support from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the Australian Data Partnership program, ACARCinom is the first Australia-wide registry of animal cancer occurrences that addresses the gaps in veterinary cancer data registries.

Five university veterinary schools and Australia’s 2 leading veterinary pathology providers are partnering in the ACARCinom project.

By uniting the expertise and resources of these institutions, ACARCinom is poised to make significant advancements in understanding and combating cancer in dogs and cats. This project represents a remarkable collaboration that harnesses the power of data to unlock new insights and drive progress in the field of veterinary oncology.

The ACARCinom project received investment (https://doi.org/10.47486/DP713) from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). The ARDC is funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

ARDC and NCRIS logos

Principal investigators

Professor Chiara Palmieri, The University of Queensland
Professor Ricardo Soares Magalhaes, The University of Queensland

Key research partners

Associate Professor Peter Bennett, University of Sydney
Dr Mieghan Bruce, Murdoch University
Professor Mark Krockenberger, University of Sydney
Dr Philippa McLaren, IDEXX
Dr Thelma Meiring, IDEXX
Professor Kerrie Mengersen, Queensland University of Technology
Professor Anne Peaston, University of Adelaide
Dr Attracta Roach, Gribbles Veterinary Pathology
Associate Professor Gabriele Rossi, Murdoch University
Dr Andrew Stent, Gribbles Veterinary Pathology

ACARCinom at Mutazioni senza frontiere, Naples, 4 July 2025

ACARCinom coordinator Professor Chiara Palmieri was an invited speaker at the scientific event Mutazioni senza frontiere: storie di geni, animali e inquinanti (Mutations without borders: insights on the intersection between genes, animals and environmental hazards), held at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.

Her talk, titled 'Unlocking the power of cancer data in companion animals', highlighted the importance of veterinary cancer registries and the role of ACARCinom in driving research at the intersection of animal health, environmental exposure and comparative oncology.

Professor Chiara Palmieri speaking at the scientific event Mutazioni senza frontiere — Professor Chiara Palmieri speaking at *Mutazioni senza frontiere*.

ACARCinom Launch Event (in person and virtual)

Hear more about the first Australia-wide database of canine and feline cancers. This event will provide you with the first-hand insight into ACARCinom, built upon a multi-institutional partnership.

Date: Thursday 23 November 2023, 9am – 11am
Location: Sir Llew Edwards Building, Rm 14-132, UQ St Lucia campus (and Zoom)

Here are the highlights from the launch event:

Watch the full launch event video (YouTube, 01h:40m:58s)

New paper published

The ACARCinom principal investigators — Professor Chiara Palmieri and Professor Ricardo Soares Magalhaes — have published a paper in Research in Veterinary Science titled 'Beyond the Clinic: Unlocking the Power of Cancer Data in Companion Animals'.

The 2025 paper highlights the urgent need for centralised, systematic cancer registries in veterinary medicine and underscores the role of ACARCinom in improving cancer surveillance, research and clinical care for companion animals.

Read the full paper

GIVCS annual meeting, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Professor Chiara Palmieri spoke at the annual Global Initiative for Veterinary Cancer Surveillance (GIVCS) meeting in Brazil in May 2024. Here is her talk 'From concept to reality: the journey of establishing the Australian Companion Animal Registry of Cancers (ACARCinom)':

Foundations of the Australia Companion Animal Registry of Cancers (ACARCinom)

Professor Chiara Palmieri spoke to the Australian and New Zealand Data Quality Interest Group in April 2024 on the work done to build ACARCinom, with a particular focus on data standardisation workflows and data vocabulary, and some tips on how to set up a cancer registration system for companion animals: