Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pony's eyelid cancer treated with immunotherapy - what to know
By McCalla, T L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1992·Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Immunotherapy of periocular squamous cell carcinoma with metastasis in a pony.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Pony of America mare was brought in for swollen and inflamed eyelids. She was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (a type of skin cancer) on her eyelids, along with eye irritation from self-trauma. Initial treatment with cryotherapy didn't work, so the vet started immunotherapy using a vaccine called BCG. After several weeks of treatment, the tumor shrank significantly, and although it spread to a nearby lymph node, that also improved over time. Eighteen months later, there were no signs of cancer returning in either the eyelid or lymph node.
People also search for: pony eyelid cancer treatment · squamous cell carcinoma in horses · BCG immunotherapy for equine cancer
Abstract
A 5-year-old Pony of America mare was referred for evaluation of inflamed upper and lower right eyelids. Squamous cell carcinoma of the eyelids and ulcerative keratitis secondary to self-trauma were diagnosed. Initial treatment of the eyelid neoplasia with 2 applications of cryotherapy failed to resolve the lesions, and immunotherapy with bacillus of Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was instituted. Multiple injections of BCG over a 17-week period resulted in progressive shrinkage of the tumor mass, but regional metastasis to the ipsilateral submandibular lymph node occurred. Six months later, ocular neoplastic lesions were not evident, and the lymph node had regressed in size. Eighteen months after the diagnosis of metastatic disease, signs of recurrence were not noticed in either the primary or secondary tumor sites. Squamous cell carcinoma of the equine eyelid historically carries a poor prognosis for resolution. Immunotherapy for equine ocular squamous cell carcinoma should be considered as a treatment alternative to cryosurgery, radiotherapy, hyperthermy, and CO2 laser ablation, especially in cases involving the eyelid.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1624344/