Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High blood calcium linked to lymph node spread in dogs with anal sac
By Toth, Darby et al.·Published in Veterinary medicine and science·2024·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association between total hypercalcaemia and iliosacral lymph node metastasis in dogs diagnosed with anal sac adenocarcinoma using abdominal ultrasonography.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog diagnosed with anal sac adenocarcinoma (a type of cancer near the anus) was found to have high blood calcium levels, which can sometimes occur with this cancer. In a study of 58 dogs with this condition, about one-third had elevated calcium, and most of those also had signs of cancer spreading to nearby lymph nodes. However, nearly half of the dogs with lymph node metastasis had normal calcium levels, indicating that high calcium alone isn't a reliable way to check for cancer spread. It's important for dogs with this cancer to have thorough testing, regardless of their calcium levels.
People also search for: dog anal sac adenocarcinoma symptoms · high calcium levels in dogs · dog lymph node cancer treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Anal sac adenocarcinoma (ASACA) in dogs is a malignant perianal tumour that often metastasizes to the iliosacral lymph nodes. Additionally, this tumour can be associated with hypercalcemia of malignancy. To date, no study has looked at the association between increased blood calcium levels and suspected or confirmed lymph node metastasis as a primary objective. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine if increased total serum calcium level is associated with iliosacral lymph node metastasis in dogs diagnosed with ASACA. METHODS: Medical records of a single referral hospital were searched to identify dogs examined between 2011 and 2021 that had a diagnosis of ASACA via cytology or histopathology. Only dogs that had serum total calcium recorded and abdominal ultrasound were included in the study. All images were reviewed by a board-certified radiologist blinded to any patient identifiers. RESULTS: Of the 58 dogs, 33% (19/58) had total hypercalcaemia, and of these, 68% had confirmed or suspected iliosacral lymph node metastasis. Total hypercalcaemia was significantly associated with confirmed or suspected iliosacral lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01). However, 46% (11/24) of dogs with confirmed or suspected iliosacral lymph node metastasis were normocalcaemic. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, it is suggested that while the presence of total hypercalcaemia may increase the likelihood of concurrent lymph node metastasis, total hypercalcaemia alone cannot be used as a screening tool for lymph node metastasis. Dogs diagnosed with ASACA should undergo full staging regardless of total serum calcium values.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37990956/