Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Many small anal sac tumors in dogs already spread to lymph nodes
By Jones, Anna E & Wustefeld-Janssens, Brandan G·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2023·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A relatively high proportion of dogs with small apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASACA) primary tumours present with locoregional lymph node metastasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old mixed breed dog was diagnosed with anal sac cancer (apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma) and presented with swollen lymph nodes. During the examination, the vet found that the primary tumor was less than 2 cm in size, but surprisingly, about 20% of dogs with similar small tumors also had lymph node metastasis. This indicates that even small tumors can be aggressive and spread. The dog received treatment, and while the study highlights the risks, it emphasizes the importance of monitoring and early intervention for dogs with anal sac tumors, regardless of size.
People also search for: dog anal sac cancer symptoms · swollen lymph nodes in dogs · anal sac adenocarcinoma treatment
Abstract
Apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASACA) is a highly relevant disease in dogs, with a high rate of lymph node (LN) metastasis during the course of disease. A recent study showed that risk for death and disease progression was significantly associated with primary tumour size less than 2 and 1.3 cm, respectively. The objective of this study was to report the proportion of dogs that have primary tumours less than 2 cm in diameter, that are diagnosed with LN metastasis at presentation. This was a single site retrospective study of dogs that underwent treatment for AGASACA. Dogs were included if physical examination primary tumour measurements were available, abdominal staging was performed, and confirmation of abnormal lymph nodes by cytology or histology was done. Over a 5-year period, 116 dogs were included for review with 53 (46%) having metastatic LN at presentation. The metastatic rate for dogs with primary tumours <2 cm was 20% (9 of 46 dogs) compared to 63% (44 of 70 dogs) in dogs with primary tumours ≥2 cm. The association between tumour size group (<2 vs. ≥2 cm) and the presence of metastasis at presentation was significant (P < .0001) with an OR of 7.0 (95% CI: 2.9-15.7). Primary tumour size was significantly associated with LN metastasis at presentation but the proportion of dogs that presented with LN metastasis in the <2 cm group was relatively high. This data suggests that dogs with small tumours may still have aggressive tumour biology.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36861227/