Arata Matsuyama
Assistant Professor
Ontario Veterinary College, Department of Clinical Studies
DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Medical Oncology), DAiCVIM (Medical Oncology)
Profile
Dr. Arata Matsuyama is a board-certified veterinary medical oncologist and cancer researcher dedicated to improving the lives of pets with cancer. Born and raised in Japan, he earned his veterinary degree from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, where he also completed internships in small animal medicine, surgery and oncology.
With a strong passion to advance cancer care, Matsuyama moved to Canada to begin a master’s degree, later transitioning into a combined medical oncology residency and PhD program at the Ontario Veterinary College. He went on to serve as a medical oncologist at referral clinics in Toronto while continuing his research as a postdoctoral fellow.
Matsuyama was then appointed as an assistant professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, where he taught undergraduate and graduate students, led the oncology clinical service, and directed the Comparative Oncology Laboratory and Tumor Bank program for three years. He returned to the Ontario Veterinary College in 2025, where he continues to combine clinical practice with cancer research, focusing on understanding how cancer develops and spreads to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for animal patients.
Outside of his professional life, Matsuyama enjoys playing tennis, traveling and spending time with his wife, children and their beloved pets.
Research Interests
- Clinical medical oncology
- Canine sarcomas
- Fusion genes in cancer
- Cancer imaging and biomarkers
Teaching
VETM*4470 - Medicine and Surgery of Dog and Cat
CLIN*6950 - Special Topics in Clinical Studies
Graduate Students
Byron Chong, DVSc
Selected Publications
Kim EDY, Gu J, Matsuyama A. Characterization of canine metastatic pulmonary nodules on 18F-FDG PET/CT. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2025 (accepted).
Matsuyama A, Poirier VJ, Turek MM, Meier VS, Lawrence J. Outcome and prognostic factors of dogs treated with infiltrative lipoma undergoing radiation therapy: a retrospective multi-institutional study of 29 cases. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology. 2025 May 14. Online ahead of print.
Williams K, MacDonald-Dickinson V, Matsuyama A. The incidence and trends of proteinuria, azotemia and hypertension in cats receiving toceranib phosphate. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2024;26(9):1098612X241266418.
Fan V, Delport-Reynolds T, MacDonald-Dickinson V, Matsuyama A. Retrospective analysis of carboplatin induced cumulative neutropenia in cancer-bearing dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2024;262(11):1-7.
Matsuyama A, Beeler-Marfisi J, Wood RD, Richardson D, Calvalido J, Mutsaers AJ, Bienzle D. Treatment of myeloid neoplasia with doxorubicin and cytarabine in 11 dogs. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology. 2023;21(1):54-61.
Tseng LJ, Matsuyama A, MacDonald-Dickinson V. Histology: The gold standard for diagnosis? Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2023;64(4):389-391.
Matsuyama A, Wood GA, Speare R, Schott CR, Mutsaers AJ. Prognostic significance of the urokinase plasminogen activator system in tissue and serum of dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma.PLoS One. 2022;17(9):e0273811.
Miller M, Stewart S, Wendelburg K, Lew F, Berg J, Matsuyama A, Mutsaers AJ, Kahn SA, Clifford C, Clark G, Khanna C. Survivorship Endpoints in Pet Dogs with Naturally Occurring Cancer as Models for Human Cancer. Journal of Oncology Research and Therapy. 2022;7:10148.
Kim S, Matsuyama A. Canine mast cell tumors: when to worry about aggressive behavior pre-surgically. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2022;63(12):1261-1263.
Pinard CJ, Hocker SE, Poon AC, Inkol JM, Matsuyama A, Wood RD, Wood GA, Woods JP, Mutsaers AJ. Evaluation of PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in canine urothelial carcinoma cell lines. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 2022;243:110367.
Poirier VJ, Matsuyama A, Darko J, Kim C, Fleck A. Clinical-dosimetric relationship between lacrimal gland dose and keratoconjunctivitis sicca in canine sinonasal tumors treated with radiation therapy. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2020;34(2):867-872.
Poon AC, Matsuyama A, Mutsaers AJ. Recent and current clinical trials in canine appendicular osteosarcoma. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2020;61(3):301-308.
Matsuyama A, Bienzle D, Richardson D, Deravi N, Hwang MH, Darzentas N, Keller SM. Composite lymphoma of concurrent T zone lymphoma and large cell B cell lymphoma in a dog. BMC Veterinary Research. 2019;15(1):413.
Chandrakumar SS, Zur Linden A, Owen M, Pemberton S, Pinard CL, Matsuyama A, Poirier VJ. Computed tomography measurements of intraocular structures of the feline eye. Veterinary Record. 2019;184(21):651.
Slater R, Oblak M, Wright T, Matsuyama A. Preserved limb function following subtotal iliopsoas muscle and femoral nerve resection in a dog with low grade intramuscular chondrosarcoma. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2019;60(5):490-494.
Matsuyama A, Schott CR, Wood GA, Richardson D, Woods JP, Mutsaers AJ. Evaluation of metronomic cyclophosphamide in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma as maintenance therapy following amputation and carboplatin chemotherapy. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2018;252(11):1377-1383.
Richardson D, Poirer VJ, Matsuyama A, Calvalido J. Correlation between body weight and mitoxantrone-associated neutropenia in dogs. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 2018;54(3):144-149.
Matsuyama A, Woods JP, Mutsaers AJ. Evaluation of toxicity of a chronic alternate day metronomic cyclophosphamide chemotherapy protocol in dogs with naturally occurring cancer. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2017;58(1):51-55.
Matsuyama A, Poirier VJ, Mantovani F, Foster RA, Mutsaers AJ. Adjuvant doxorubicin with or without metronomic cyclophosphamide for canine splenic hemangiosarcoma. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 2017;53(6):304-312.
Kim C, Matsuyama A, Mutsaers AJ, Woods JP. Retrospective evaluation of toceranib (Palladia) treatment for canine metastatic appendicular osteosarcoma. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 2017;58(10):1059-1064.
Matsuyama A, Takagi S, Hosoya K, Kagawa Y, Nakamura K, Deguchi T, Takiguchi M. Impact of surgical margins on survival of 37 dogs with massive hepatocellular carcinoma. New Zealand Veterinary Journal. 2017;65(5):227-231.