Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leptin and iNOS found in oral melanoma tumors in dogs
By Greene, V R et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2013·Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology Research, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Expression of leptin and iNOS in oral melanomas in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at oral melanoma, a serious type of mouth cancer, in dogs. Researchers found that a hormone called leptin was present in most of the tumor cells from the dogs studied, which could help in future treatments or screenings. The study also noted that the relationship between another factor, iNOS, and tumor aggression was less clear. This information could lead to new ways to manage oral melanoma in dogs, but more research is needed to understand the best treatments.
People also search for: dog oral melanoma treatment · leptin in dog cancer · signs of mouth cancer in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oral melanoma (OM) in dogs is an aggressive malignancy, with clinical behavior resembling cutaneous melanomas in humans. Melanoma in humans is promoted by an inflammatory environment that is contributed to by leptin and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). OBJECTIVE: To determine if the patterns of leptin and iNOS expression are similar in OM in dogs and cutaneous melanomas in humans. ANIMALS: Twenty client-owned dogs. METHODS: Retrospective case study. Immunostaining of the OM tumors from each dog was scored for percentage and intensity of leptin and iNOS expression. Mitotic index was used as an indicator of tumor aggression. RESULTS: Leptin was detected in ≥75% of the tumor cells in specimens from 11 dogs. One tumor expressed leptin in ≤25% of the cells. The intensity of leptin expression was variable with 6, 9, and 5 cases exhibiting low-, moderate-, and high-intensity staining, respectively. OM with the lowest percentage of iNOS positive cells displayed the highest mitotic indices (P = .006, ANOVA). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The expression of leptin is a common finding in melanomas in dogs. These data suggest that the possibility of future clinical applications, such as measuring the concentrations of plasma leptin as a screening tool or leptin as a target for therapy. The relevance of iNOS is not as clear in dogs with OM, for which other directed therapeutics might be more appropriate.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24033424/