Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Treatment outcomes for squamous cell skin cancer in dogs
By de Castro Cunha, Rúbia Monteiro et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2023·Department of Veterinary Clinic and Surgery, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine squamous cell carcinoma: Electrochemotherapy association with surgery and correlation with overall survival.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old dog with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of skin cancer, was treated with surgery and electrochemotherapy (ECT). Dogs with white fur, especially those with tumors in sun-exposed areas, were found to have a higher risk of developing aggressive tumors but also tended to live longer after treatment. The combination of surgery and ECT improved survival rates significantly compared to surgery alone. Overall, 90.9% of dogs responded well to ECT, making it a promising option for treating SCC in dogs.
People also search for: dog skin cancer treatment · electrochemotherapy for dogs · squamous cell carcinoma in dogs · dog cancer survival rates · white dog skin cancer risk
Abstract
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an important malignancy in dogs, due to its incidence and clinical presentation, which can be of locally aggressive single or multiple lesions with a metastatic potential. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate SCC response to treatment, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics, disease-free interval and overall survival time. 54 dogs with histopathologically diagnosed SCC were included in this study. Their mean age was 9.16 years with a range of 1-14 years. Of the 54 animals in the study, 34 (65.4%) had white skin and white fur coats. There was a significant correlation between fur coat colour and the development of tumours in areas of sun exposure (p = .001). Animals with tumours in areas of the body exposed to the sun had longer overall survival time than animals with tumours in areas not associated with sun exposure (p = .001). Surgery combined with electrochemotherapy (ECT) yielded a survival rate 32% higher than using a surgical approach alone (HR = 0.32, p = .038, IC = 0.11-0.94). ECT, with or without surgery, had an objective response rate of 90.9%. Local lymph node and/or distant site metastasis at diagnosis, or at some point during follow-up, occurred in 34.6% (18/52) of animals. Animals with tumours in sun exposed locations had more aggressive histopathological characteristics but had longer overall survival time. This is probably due to individualised therapeutic treatment with both surgery and ECT.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36745052/