PetCure marks 10,000 radiation therapy patients treated

PetCure Oncology has reached 10,000 radiation therapy patients treated since opening in 2015, a milestone the company says reflects how much access to advanced veterinary radiation oncology has changed in the past decade. In a January 7, 2026, announcement, the Austin-based organization said it was created to make stereotactic radiation available outside the limited set of academic institutions and geographies where it was once concentrated. (petcureoncology.com)

That framing matches the field’s historical context. PetCure’s veterinary FAQ says that, at the time of its founding, there were fewer than 70 traditional veterinary radiation therapy facilities in the U.S., and fewer than 10 were providing stereotactic radiosurgery or stereotactic radiotherapy. A 2018 survey published in Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound described SRT as an emerging modality with wide variation in protocols and no consensus best practices, underscoring how early the discipline still was in private practice adoption. (petcureoncology.com)

PetCure’s pitch has been to narrow that gap by pairing board-certified radiation oncology expertise with distributed treatment sites and referral relationships. In the milestone announcement, Chief Medical Officer Neal Mauldin, DVM, said the original goal was to make stereotactic-level care available to referring veterinarians beyond large academic programs. In a separate PetCure trends piece, the company also pointed to newer compact radiation systems that may reduce infrastructure needs, including platforms that don’t require a dedicated radiation vault and could eventually support CT, planning, and treatment under a single anesthetic event for some cases. (petcureoncology.com)

The company’s operating footprint appears to be evolving alongside that strategy. Today’s Veterinary Business reported in 2025 that PetCure had seven treatment centers and one standalone comprehensive cancer care center in operation under Thrive Pet Healthcare. The Veterinary Cancer Society’s 2024 radiation facilities list also shows PetCure-branded sites in markets including San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth, alongside university and private-practice radiation centers, illustrating a broader competitive and referral landscape than the one that existed a decade ago. (todaysveterinarybusiness.com)

Industry reaction has centered on access and technology. In a November 2025 announcement, Empyrean Medical Systems said it had partnered with Thrive Pet Healthcare to place its Sirius platform at PetCure’s Seattle location, scheduled to open in early 2026. The companies described the system as a way to deliver highly targeted, image-guided radiation with robotic precision. Mauldin said at the time that the partnership would expand advanced treatment options in the Pacific Northwest, a region where specialty oncology capacity has historically been uneven. Because that statement comes from a vendor announcement, it should be read as directional rather than independent validation, but it does signal where PetCure’s growth strategy is heading. (empyreanmed.com)

Expert commentary from PetCure leadership also highlights the workforce constraint behind the access problem. In a company Q&A, Mauldin said there are “only about 100 radiation oncologists in the world,” and argued that telehealth consultation and cross-regional treatment planning can help extend specialist expertise even when patients still need to travel for therapy. A 2024 Today’s Veterinary Nurse review, meanwhile, cited AVMA reporting that as of December 2023 there were 139 boarded veterinary radiation oncologists in the United States, with radiation therapy options in more than 30 states. Those figures are not directly comparable, but together they point to the same issue: access is improving, yet specialist capacity remains limited relative to demand. (petcureoncology.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this story is less about one company’s round-number milestone than about what it says regarding referral medicine. Shorter-course stereotactic protocols can reduce the number of anesthetic events and treatment visits compared with conventionally fractionated radiation, which may make oncology referrals more feasible for pet parents balancing travel, cost, and quality-of-life concerns. At the same time, growing access to radiation services could affect how general practitioners counsel clients earlier in the diagnostic process, especially in cases where radiation may be curative, adjunctive, or palliative. The expansion of low-dose radiation for chronic inflammatory conditions, which PetCure says it is watching closely, could also broaden the set of cases veterinarians consider appropriate for radiation referral, though that area remains less standardized and needs stronger evidence. (petcureoncology.com)

What to watch: The next question is whether PetCure and the wider field can convert expansion into stronger clinical evidence, more standardized reporting, and more predictable referral access. A 2024 systematic review on stereotactic radiation therapy in veterinary medicine called for better completeness of reporting, while PetCure is signaling continued investment in newer platforms, multidisciplinary care models, and additional markets. If those efforts translate into more published outcomes and easier referral logistics, the practical impact for veterinarians may be larger than the milestone itself. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)