Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How ultrasound scans check dog mammary tumors for cancer
By Feliciano, M A R et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2012·Department of Animal Reproduction, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Conventional and Doppler ultrasound for the differentiation of benign and malignant canine mammary tumours.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of female dogs with mammary tumors underwent testing to determine if ultrasound could help tell the difference between benign (non-cancerous) and malignant (cancerous) tumors. While traditional ultrasound wasn't effective, a special type called Triplex Doppler ultrasound showed promise by measuring blood flow speeds, which were higher in malignant tumors. This method also correlated with levels of a specific protein linked to tumor growth. The findings suggest that Doppler ultrasound could be a useful tool for veterinarians in assessing the seriousness of mammary tumors in dogs.
People also search for: dog mammary tumor treatment · how to tell if a dog tumor is cancerous · ultrasound for dog tumors
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of conventional and Doppler ultrasound for differentiation of benign and malignant mammary tumours in female dogs. METHODS: Mammary tumours were evaluated from 60 animals and divided into two distinct groups, group 1 (benign tumours) and group 2 (malignant tumours). The tumours were assessed by conventional ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound mode, histopathology and immunohistochemical detection of vascular endothelial growth factor. RESULTS: Conventional ultrasound examination was found to be ineffective in separating tumours into the two experimental groups. Similarly, using colour-flow Doppler ultrasound, no correlation was found between the presence of vascularisation and its characteristics between the two groups. Triplex Doppler ultrasound yielded average maximum velocities of 28·71 cm/s for malignant and 19·91 cm/s for benign tumours, which were significantly different (P=0·01). For vascular endothelial growth factor, an average score of 2·22 was found for group 2 and 1·66 for group 1 (P=0·03). Positive correlations were found between vascular endothelial growth factor and presence of vascularisation (P=0·04 and r=0·3658) and between vascular endothelial growth factor and maximum velocity (P=0·03 and r=0·3913). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Doppler evaluation may be used to predict malignancy of mammary tumours in bitches.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22647211/