Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Advances in diagnosing and treating dog skin mast cell tumors
By Dobson, J M & Scase, T J·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2007·Department of Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Advances in the diagnosis and management of cutaneous mast cell tumours in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a skin lump was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor, which is a common type of skin tumor in dogs. Although these tumors can be tricky to manage, many grade I and grade II tumors can be treated successfully with surgery. Recent findings suggest that the severity of these tumors may be overstated, and that surgical removal is often effective. Ongoing research is looking into the genetic factors that may contribute to these tumors, which could lead to new treatment options in the future.
People also search for: dog skin lump treatment · mast cell tumor surgery in dogs · canine mast cell tumor prognosis
Abstract
Mast cell tumours are one of the most common tumours of the canine skin and have a reputation for being difficult to manage because of their variable clinical presentation, behaviour and response to treatment. This review of recent literature on canine mast cell tumours suggests that the majority of such tumours may not be as bad as their reputation suggests. Most grade I and grade II tumours can be managed successfully by good surgery. Recent literature also calls into question the utility of clinical staging systems and the value of assessing surgical margins for prognosis and highlights the paucity of well-conducted, case-controlled clinical trials in assessing the efficacy of medical management of high-risk tumours. In terms of more basic research, recent studies have implicated the stem cell factor receptor KIT as having a role in the aetiology of canine mast cell tumours and there appears to be an association between c-kit mutation and higher grade of tumour. This may offer a possible target for new therapeutic approaches.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17559522/