Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation therapy helps dogs live longer with infiltrative lipomas
By Feng, Yuchen et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2023·1William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Conventionally fractionated radiation therapy is associated with long-term survival in dogs with infiltrative lipomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 24 dogs with infiltrative lipomas (a type of fatty tumor) received radiation therapy after having one to three surgeries. The dogs were treated with daily radiation sessions over several weeks, and the results showed that many dogs lived for several years after treatment. On average, the dogs that survived lived about 4.8 years after finishing radiation, with some living even longer. Notably, female dogs tended to have longer survival times compared to males. Overall, radiation therapy proved to be an effective option for managing these tumors in dogs.
People also search for: dog infiltrative lipoma treatment · radiation therapy for dog tumors · long-term survival dog lipoma
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe radiotherapy outcomes for canine infiltrative lipomas and provide detailed radiotherapy planning data. ANIMALS: 24 dogs from 2000 to 2020. METHODS: In this retrospective study, dogs received 1 to 3 surgeries prior to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for gross (18) or microscopic (8) infiltrative lipomas. Dogs received 45 to 51 Gray (Gy) in 15 to 20 daily fractions, with 71% of dogs receiving 48 Gy in daily 3-Gy fractions. RESULTS: Masses were regionally located as follows: limbs (7), trunk (13), head/neck (4). At analysis, 16/24 dogs were deceased, 5/24 were alive (median follow-up for alive dogs: 1,216 days [range, 741 to 1,870 days]), and 3/24 were lost to follow-up. One living dog had progressive disease 923 days after completing conventionally fractionated radiotherapy and received another surgery. The estimated median overall survival (OS) after completing radiotherapy was 4.8 years (1,760 days; 95% CI, 1,215 to 2,777 days; range, 23 to 3,499 days) for any cause of death, and no patients were reported to have been euthanized or died from their tumor. No statistically significant difference was found for dogs based on gross versus microscopic disease (gross OS, 4.8 years vs microscopic OS, 3.6 years; P = .45). Furthermore, the number of surgeries before radiotherapy did not impact survival (P = .96). The survival difference between females (median OS, 7.6 years; 95% CI, 963 days to not reached) versus males (median OS, 4.6 years; 95% CI, 335 to 2,245 days; P = .05) was statistically significant, although 4/5 living dogs were female. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study demonstrates lengthy survivals with radiotherapy, even with gross disease, for dogs with infiltrative lipomas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37524353/