Could insight from cats lead to breast cancer cures?

New research suggests that insights from feline cancer could lead to improved breast cancer treatments for humans.

Owning a cat offers many health benefits, including reduced stress and emotional support, and new research suggests our feline friends might also offer clues to better treat certain cancers.

That's according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science, which investigated cancers in cats and found significant parallels with how the disease plays out in humans.

Previous studies had highlighted similar links between dogs and humans, but little research focused on cats, said co-author Louise van der Weyden, a scientist at the British Wellcome Sanger Institute.

Cats, just like dogs, provide "a great model for us," she told AFP, because they share an environment with humans that includes similar pollution, such as second-hand smoke.

"They develop other illnesses that we do when you get cancer," Van der Weyden told AFP, explaining that cancer can be accompanied by ailments like diabetes or heart disease. Not infrequently, she said, the "animals will have that too."

With this principle as their guide, the international research team analyzed cancerous tumor samples from nearly 500 domestic cats across five countries.