Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Metastatic cancer with unknown origin in 21 dogs and survival outcomes
By Rossi, F et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2015·Centro Oncologico Veterinario, Italy·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Metastatic cancer of unknown primary in 21 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 21 dogs with metastatic cancer of unknown primary (MCUP) were diagnosed, meaning the original tumor could not be found. Most of these dogs had symptoms like weight loss or lethargy, and common sites for the cancer spread included bones, lymph nodes, lungs, and spleen. Despite treatment, the average survival time for these dogs was only about 30 days, and in nearly all cases, the primary tumor site remained unidentified. Unfortunately, MCUP is associated with a poor prognosis.
People also search for: dog metastatic cancer unknown primary · symptoms of cancer in dogs · treatment options for dog cancer
Abstract
The aim of this retrospective study was to describe clinical features, treatment and outcome of 21 dogs with metastatic cancer of unknown primary (MCUP), a biopsy-proven malignancy being diagnosed at a metastatic stage, in which the anatomical origin of the primary tumour cannot be detected. All dogs underwent total-body computed tomography. Signalment, type and duration of clinical signs, metastasis site, pathology results, treatment and outcome were recorded. Carcinoma was the most common diagnosis (57.1%), followed by sarcoma, melanoma and mast cell tumour. The median number of disease sites per dog was 2, with bones, lymph nodes, lungs and spleen being the most frequent metastatic locations. The median survival for all dogs was 30 days. Overall, a primary site was not identified in 20 (95.2%) dogs. MCUP encompasses a variety of different pathologic entities and harbours a poor prognosis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23295011/