Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline skin mast cell tumors in the UK and their outcomes
By Melville, Kirsty et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2015·Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Feline cutaneous mast cell tumours: a UK-based study comparing signalment and histological features with long-term outcomes.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at skin tumors called mast cell tumors (MCTs) in cats, finding that they are the second most common type of skin tumor. The research included 69 cats, mostly around 11 years old, and showed that certain breeds like Siamese and Ragdoll are more likely to develop these tumors. Unfortunately, about 17% of the cats died from MCTs, and the location of the tumor affected survival rates, with younger cats often having tumors on their heads and older cats on their trunks. The study also identified a new type of MCT that seemed to have a worse outcome.
People also search for: cat skin tumor treatment · Siamese cat mast cell tumor · Ragdoll cat cancer survival · what to do for cat with skin lumps
Abstract
Feline cutaneous mast cell tumours (MCTs) are the second most common skin tumour in cats; but, unlike in dogs, there is currently no histological grading system for this type of tumour. This study recorded the signalment and anatomical location from a total of 287 records from MCTs submitted to a UK commercial diagnostic laboratory. Questionnaires to submitting practices were used to obtain follow-up data, and the histological features of 86 tumours were evaluated from 69 cats with a known outcome. Twelve of the 69 cats (17.4%) died of MCTs, with significantly lower survival times. The median age of cats presenting with MCTs was 11 years (range 5 months-19 years), with no sex or neutered status predilection. Some pedigree breeds were more susceptible to MCTs, particularly the Siamese, Burmese, Russian Blue and Ragdoll. The head was the most common site in younger cats, compared with the trunk in older cats. The number of tumours had no effect on survival. A new subcategory of well-differentiated MCTs with prominent multinucleated cells is described, and three of the five cats with this novel form died from MCT-related disease. There was an association between mitotic index and survival time. However, there was no significant association between histological type and survival.
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/25193279/