Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation boost for dog nasal tumors does not improve survival
By Meier, Valeria et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2022·Department for Small Animals·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Dose-escalated simultaneously integrated boost radiation protocol fails to result in a survival advantage for sinonasal tumors in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with sinonasal tumors, which can cause symptoms like nosebleeds and seizures, were treated with two different radiation therapy protocols to see if one was better than the other. The study included 49 dogs, with some receiving a standard radiation dose and others getting a higher dose aimed directly at the tumor. While most dogs showed improvement in their symptoms, the survival rates were similar for both treatment methods, with an average survival time of about 11 months. Overall, the new radiation technique did not provide a significant advantage over the standard treatment.
People also search for: dog sinonasal tumor treatment · dog nosebleeds causes · radiation therapy for dog cancer
Abstract
The prognosis for canine sinonasal tumors remains rather poor despite definitive-intent radiotherapy (RT). Theoretical calculations predicted improved outcomes with simultaneously integrated boost (SIB) protocols. With the hypothesis of clinically detectable differences in outcome between groups, our retrospective study evaluated prognostic variables and outcome in dogs treated with regular versus SIB RT. Dogs with sinonasal tumors treated with either a regular (10 × 4.2 Gy) or new SIB protocol (10 × 4.83 Gy to macroscopic tumor) were included. Information regarding signalment, tumor stage, type, clinical signs, radiation toxicity, response, and outcome was collected. Forty-nine dogs were included: 27 treated regularly and 22 treated with SIB RT. A total of 69.4% showed epistaxis, 6.1% showed epileptic seizures, 46.9% showed stage IV tumors, and 6.1% showed lymph node metastases. Early toxicity was mostly mild. Late grade 1 skin toxicity (alopecia/leucotrichia) was seen in 72.1% of dogs, and a possible grade 3 ocular toxicity (blindness) was seen in one dog. Complete/partial resolution of clinical signs was seen in 95.9% of patients as best clinical response and partial remission was seen as best imaging response in 34.7%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 274 days (95% CI: 117-383) for regular and 300 days (95% CI: 143-451) for SIB RT, which was not significantly different (P = 0.42). Similarly, the median overall survival (OS) was 348 days (95% CI: 121-500) for regular and 381 days (95% CI: 295-634) for the SIB RT (P = 0.18). Stratified by protocol, the hazard ratio of stage IV versus stage I-III tumors was 2.29 (95% CI: 1.156-4.551, P = 0.02) for OS but not PFS. All dogs showed acceptable toxicity. In contrast to theoretical predictions, however, we could not show a statistically significant better outcome with the new protocol.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35347801/