Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival after surgery and vaccine in dogs with oral melanoma
By Giacobino, Davide et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2021·Department of Veterinary Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Difference in outcome between curative intent vs marginal excision as a first treatment in dogs with oral malignant melanoma and the impact of adjuvant CSPG4-DNA electrovaccination: A retrospective study on 155 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 155 dogs with oral malignant melanoma, a serious type of mouth cancer, were treated with either a complete surgical removal of the tumor or a less extensive surgery. The dogs that had the complete removal lived longer and had a longer time without the disease returning compared to those that had only a partial excision. Additionally, dogs that received an experimental immunotherapy after surgery showed even better results, with significantly longer survival times and disease-free intervals. This suggests that aggressive treatment combined with immunotherapy may be the best approach for managing this type of cancer in dogs.
People also search for: dog oral melanoma treatment · canine cancer surgery options · immunotherapy for dogs with cancer
Abstract
Canine oral malignant melanoma is locally invasive and highly metastatic. At present, the best option for local control is en bloc excision followed by radiation if excision margins are incomplete. Adjuvantly, the role of chemotherapy is dubious while immunotherapy appears encouraging. This retrospective study evaluated 155 dogs with oral malignant melanomas (24 stage I, 54 stage II, 66 stage III and 11 stage IV) managed in a single institution. The aim was to evaluate the differences in median survival time (MST) and disease-free interval (DFI) between dogs which, at presentation, were treated surgically with a curative intent (group 1) vs those marginally excised only (group 2). MST in group 1 was longer than in group 2 (594 vs 458 days), but no significant difference was found (P = .57); a statistical difference was, however, found for DFI (232 vs 183 days, P = .008). In the subpopulation of vaccinated dogs, the impact of adjuvant anti-CSPG4 DNA electrovaccination was then evaluated (curative intent, group 3, vs marginal, group 4); a significant difference for both MST (1333 vs 470 days, respectively, P = .03) and DFI (324 vs 184 days, respectively, P = .008) was found. Progressive disease was significantly more common in dogs undergoing marginal excision than curative intent excision for both the overall population (P = .03) and the vaccinated dogs (P = .02). This study pointed out that, after staging, wide excision together with adjuvant immunotherapy was an effective approach for canine oral malignant melanoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33751759/