Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme found in most dog mast cell tumors
By Prada, Justina et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2012·Department of Veterinary Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in canine mast cell tumours.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at mast cell tumors (MCTs), which are common skin tumors in dogs, to see if a certain protein called Cox-2 could help guide treatment. The researchers found that 86% of the tumors expressed Cox-2, with varying levels of intensity. This suggests that using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially those that target Cox-2, might be beneficial for dogs with these tumors. While the study didn't find significant differences in Cox-2 levels between different grades of tumors, it indicates that Cox-2 inhibitors could be a promising treatment option for managing mast cell tumors in dogs.
People also search for: dog mast cell tumor treatment · Cox-2 inhibitors for dogs · canine skin tumors · NSAIDs for dog cancer
Abstract
Mast cell tumours (MCTs) are among the most common cutaneous neoplasms in dogs and have a highly variable clinical behaviour. Cyclooxygenase (Cox) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in prostanoid biosynthesis and has recently gained attention as a prognostic factor and therapeutic target in human and animal oncology. In order to evaluate the potential value of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment of canine MCTs, expression of Cox-2 was determined in 49 such tumours (14 of grade I, nine of grade II and 22 of grade III). Cox-2 was expressed by 86% of the tumours studied. The percentage of labelled cells ranged from isolated positive cells throughout the tumour (n=8) to localized foci of labelled cells (n=3) or diffuse labelling of >50% of the cells (n=31). The intensity of Cox-2 labelling ranged from weak (n=4) to moderate (n=16) and strong (n=22) and was greatest at the advancing margin of the tumour. The intensity of Cox-2 labelling was significantly different between the three histological groups (P=0.018). However, no significant differences were noted for the percentage of Cox-2 positive cells (P=0.122) and for the immunoreactivity score (P=0.348) between the histological grades. The results of this study suggest that NSAIDs, particularly Cox-2 inhibitors, may be of value in the treatment of canine MCTs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22079567/