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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog with malignant jaw tumor treated with surgery and radiotherapy

By Murphy, S et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2006·Animal Health Trust·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Intermandibular malignant mesenchymoma in a crossbreed dog.

Species:
dog
Canine melanomaMovement & jointsDogs

Plain-English summary

A 12-year-old German shepherd crossbreed was brought to the vet with a lump under its jaw, which was first thought to be a type of cancer called myxosarcoma. After further tests, the tumor was identified as a more aggressive form called malignant mesenchymoma. The dog had surgery to remove part of the tumor, followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy with carboplatin. Unfortunately, the dog's health declined several months later, and it was euthanized after 153 days, with postmortem exams showing that the cancer had spread to other areas of the body, despite no local recurrence of the tumor.

People also search for: dog jaw lump cancer · malignant mesenchymoma treatment in dogs · German shepherd cancer prognosis

Abstract

A 12-year-old German shepherd crossbreed dog was presented with a submandibular mass that was initially diagnosed as myxosarcoma on incisional biopsy. Chest radiographs were taken for staging, and magnetic resonance imaging was performed to assess the feasibility of cytoreductive surgery before adjuvant radiotherapy. The dog underwent debulking surgery, and histology permitted reclassification of the tumour as a malignant mesenchymoma (with myxosarcomatous and osteosarcomatous differentiation). The dog was subsequently treated with four fractions of radiotherapy given at seven-day intervals and three doses of carboplatin. The dog remained stable following therapy until its condition acutely deteriorated, and it was euthanased 153 days after surgery. On postmortem examination, there were no signs of local tumour recurrence, but metastases were observed both in the thorax and in the abdomen.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16961475/