Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival of dogs with pheochromocytoma after medication or surgery
By Steele, Matthew M E et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis of Long-Term Survival in 255 Dogs With Pheochromocytoma Treated With Alpha-Adrenoreceptor Antagonists or Surgery (2010-2021).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Golden Retriever was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, a type of tumor affecting the adrenal glands, and was treated either with medication or surgery. The study found that dogs who underwent surgery had a much longer survival time, averaging about 927 days, compared to only 247 days for those treated with medication alone. Additionally, dogs that showed no clinical signs at the time of diagnosis had better survival rates. Overall, surgical treatment was more effective, and many dogs that received medication before surgery survived the procedure.
People also search for: dog pheochromocytoma treatment · Golden Retriever adrenal tumor surgery · dog survival rates pheochromocytoma
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The survival of dogs with pheochromocytoma (PCC) treated with adrenoreceptor antagonists has not been described or compared to surgically managed cases. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to evaluate the survival of medically and surgically managed dogs with PCC and investigate factors associated with survival. ANIMALS: Two hundred fifty-five dogs with PCC, treated with alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonists (AA) without adrenalectomy (Group 1, n = 75), adrenalectomy +/- AA (Group 2, n = 128), or neither treatment (Group 3, n = 52). METHODS: Retrospective, multicenter review of medical records. Median overall survival time (OST) for Groups 1 and 2 combined was calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimates, and then compared between Group 1 and Group 2 using Log-Rank testing. Cox proportional hazard analysis identified factors associated with survival in Groups 1 and 2 individually and combined. RESULTS: Median OST for all cases was 854 (95% CI: 572-1136) days. Median OST was lower in Group 1 (247 days, 95% CI: 76-418 days) than in Group 2 (927 days, 95% CI: 587-1267 days; p < 0.001). In Group 2, 88/92 dogs (97.8%) that received presurgical AA treatment survived to discharge compared to 23/27 (85.2%) that did not receive AA pretreatment (p = 0.03). Lack of clinical signs at presentation was associated with increased survival in both groups combined (HR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3-0.9; p = 0.02) and in Group 2 alone (HR 0.3; 95% CI 0.1-0.7; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Dogs with PCC treated with adrenalectomy have longer survival compared to those managed with AA without adrenalectomy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40891092/