Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Imaging finds other health issues affecting treatment in dogs
By Bigio Marcello, A et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2015·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of comorbidities and synchronous primary tumours via thoracic radiography and abdominal ultrasonography and their influence on treatment outcome in dogs with soft tissue sarcomas, primary brain tumours and intranasal tumours.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with soft tissue sarcomas, brain tumors, and intranasal tumors underwent imaging tests like X-rays and ultrasounds to check for other health issues before starting radiation therapy. In nearly all the dogs, the tests revealed abnormalities, and some of these were serious enough to change the treatment plan. About 3% of the dogs had additional tumors found during these tests. This suggests that doing these imaging tests can be very important for making the best treatment decisions for dogs with these types of tumors.
People also search for: dog soft tissue sarcoma treatment · dog brain tumor symptoms · dog radiation therapy side effects
Abstract
Canine soft tissue sarcomas (STS), primary brain tumours and intranasal tumours are commonly treated with radiotherapy (RT). Given the low metastatic potential of these tumours, recommendations regarding imaging tests as staging are variable among institutions. The purpose of our study was to describe thoracic radiographic and abdominal ultrasonographic findings in dogs with these neoplasms and to investigate association of abnormal findings with alterations in recommended treatment. Medical records from 101 dogs, each having thoracic radiographs and abdominal ultrasound performed as part of their staging, were reviewed. In 98 of 101 (97%), imaging abnormalities were detected, 27% of which were further investigated with fine needle aspiration cytology or biopsy. Nine percent of the detected abnormalities were considered serious comorbidities that altered treatment recommendations, including 3 (3%) which were confirmed as synchronous primary neoplasms. These findings may influence recommendations regarding the decision to perform thoracic radiographs and abdominal ultrasound prior to initiation of RT.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23968175/