Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation treatment options and survival for dogs with pituitary
By Marcinowska, Aleksandra et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2015·Department of Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: COMPARISON OF TWO COARSE FRACTIONATED RADIATION PROTOCOLS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CANINE PITUITARY MACROTUMOR: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF 24 DOGS.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 24 dogs with confirmed pituitary macrotumors (large tumors in the brain) underwent two different radiation treatment plans to see which worked better. Half of the dogs received radiation three times a week, while the other half were treated once a week. The dogs treated three times a week lived significantly longer, with an average survival of about 961 days compared to just 182 days for those on the once-a-week plan. Both groups showed clinical improvement, and no major side effects were reported. This suggests that more frequent radiation treatments may lead to better outcomes for dogs with these tumors.
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Abstract
Radiotherapy is a commonly used treatment for pituitary macrotumors in dogs, but the optimum protocol has not been established. Twenty four dogs with MRI confirmed pituitary macrotumors were treated with one of two radiotherapy protocols. Twelve dogs were treated with 10 fractions of 3.8 Gy/fraction on a "Monday-Wednesday-Friday" schedule, the remaining 12 with five "once-a-week" protocols (1 × 5 Gy, followed by 4 × 8.25 Gy) to a total dose of 38 Gy. The overall median survival time for all dogs was 235 days (range 28-1,328), dogs treated with 10 fractions had a median survival time of 961 days (range 28-1,328) compared to 182 days (range 42-507) in the five-fraction group (P = 0.006). Clinical improvement was found in both groups, and no significant side effects were noted in either group. These results suggest that a "Monday-Wednesday-Friday" schedule may improve survival times, as compared to a "once-a-week" protocol. As this study was of an observational nonrandomized nature, future work is necessary to establish whether more highly fractionated protocols or different total doses will further improve outcome.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26129808/