Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
More cancer fibroblasts mean shorter survival in cats with mouth
By Klobukowska, H J & Munday, J S·Published in Veterinary pathology·2016·Institute of Veterinary·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: High Numbers of Stromal Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Are Associated With a Shorter Survival Time in Cats With Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that cats with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a type of aggressive mouth cancer, had a shorter survival time if their tumors contained high numbers of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). In this research involving 47 cats, those with CAF-positive tumors lived an average of just 35 days, while those without CAFs survived about 48.5 days. The location of the tumor also affected survival, with oropharyngeal tumors having a longer median survival of 179 days compared to other locations like the sublingual area, which had a median of only 22.5 days. This suggests that checking for CAFs in tumor samples could help predict how long a cat might live after being diagnosed with this type of cancer.
People also search for: cat oral cancer survival rate · feline squamous cell carcinoma treatment · cancer-associated fibroblasts in cats
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are fibroblastic cells that express α-smooth muscle actin and have been identified in the stroma of numerous epithelial tumors. The presence of CAFs within the tumor stroma has been associated with a poorer prognosis in some human cancers, including oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Cats frequently develop oral SCCs, and although these are generally highly aggressive neoplasms, there is currently a lack of prognostic markers for these tumors. The authors investigated the prognostic value of the presence of CAFs within the stroma of oral SCC biopsy specimens from 47 cats. In addition, several epidemiologic, clinical, and histologic variables were also assessed for prognostic significance. A CAF-positive stroma was identified in 35 of 47 SCCs (74.5%), and the median survival time (ST) of cats with CAF-positive SCCs (35 days) was significantly shorter than that of cats with CAF-negative SCCs (48.5 days) (P = .031). ST was also associated with the location of the primary tumor (P = .0018): the median ST for oropharyngeal SCCs (179 days) was significantly longer than for maxillary (43.5 days; P = .047), mandibular (42 days; P = .022), and sublingual SCCs (22.5 days; P = .0005). The median ST of sublingual SCCs was also shorter compared with maxillary SCCs (P = .0017). Furthermore, a significant association was identified between site and the presence of stromal CAFs (P = .025). On the basis of this retrospective study, evaluating the tumor stroma for CAFs in feline oral SCC biopsy specimens may be of potential prognostic value.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26940838/