Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Risk of new malignant tumors years after radiation for dog mouth
By McEntee, Margaret C et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2004·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Malignant tumor formation in dogs previously irradiated for acanthomatous epulis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 57 dogs that had radiation therapy for a type of oral tumor called acanthomatous epulis were monitored for any new tumors. Out of these dogs, 2 developed a second tumor, specifically a sarcoma or osteosarcoma, many years after their treatment. While there is a small risk of developing new tumors from radiation, it seems to be low, especially in older dogs. The study found that younger dogs tended to live longer after treatment compared to older ones.
People also search for: dog oral tumor treatment · radiation side effects in dogs · acanthomatous epulis prognosis
Abstract
In this retrospective study of 57 dogs irradiated for oral acanthomatous epulis, 2 (3.5%) dogs developed a second tumor (sarcoma, osteosarcoma) in the radiation treatment field at 5.2 and 8.7 years after the end of radiation therapy. As opposed to previous reports, no second epithelial tumors developed in the radiation treatment field. There is a risk of radiation-induced carcinogenesis, but it appears that it is a relatively low risk and an event that occurs years after radiation therapy. Radiation-induced tumors are of more concern in younger dogs that undergo radiation therapy for tumors that are radioresponsive, such as acanthomatous epulis, where long-term survival is expected. The only statistically significant variable in the survival analysis was age, with dogs less than 8.3 years old having a significantly longer median overall survival (2322 days) than dogs older than 8.3 years (1106 days; P<0.0001).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15373265/