Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Additional liver masses in dogs with liver tumors are usually benign
By Burkhardt, Samuel James et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2026·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: In dogs with primary liver tumors, additional liver masses identified on preoperative imaging or surgical exploration are most often benign.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with primary liver tumors underwent surgery to remove the affected liver lobe and had additional liver masses biopsied. In most cases, these extra masses were found to be benign, meaning they were not cancerous. Out of 40 dogs, only 2 had malignant additional masses, while the rest had benign ones. This suggests that having a primary liver tumor does not necessarily mean that any additional liver masses are also cancerous. Most dogs in this situation had a good outcome after surgery.
People also search for: dog liver tumor treatment · what does a liver mass mean in dogs · benign liver mass in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the malignancy status of additional masses in dogs with a primary liver mass. The hypothesis was that the malignancy status of the primary liver mass would not be related to the malignancy status of the biopsied additional mass. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated canines receiving a liver lobectomy for a primary liver tumor with concurrent biopsy of an additional liver mass and subsequent histopathologic diagnoses from January 1, 2019, to May 15, 2025, at a single institution. RESULTS: 40 dogs were identified. All 22 benign primary masses had benign additional masses. Sixteen malignant primary masses had benign additional masses, and 2 malignant primary masses had malignant additional masses. The second mass was benign in 38 of 40 dogs (95%). CONCLUSIONS: In dogs with multiple liver masses, a malignant primary liver mass did not correlate with a malignant secondary mass. Dogs with a primary liver mass that was excised were not found to have a significant incidence of the additional mass representing metastasis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Benign additional liver masses frequently occur in dogs with primary liver masses. Additional masses should not be overinterpreted as a strong indicator of metastatic disease when discussing the results of staging diagnostics with clients, as most dogs have an excellent prognosis with liver lobectomy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41275601/