Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lumps or limping in cats could be bone or soft tissue tumors
By Helm, Jenny & Morris, Joanna·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2012·School of Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Musculoskeletal neoplasia: an important differential for lumps or lameness in the cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with a lump or lameness may be suffering from a rare type of cancer called musculoskeletal neoplasia, which includes soft tissue tumors like feline injection site sarcomas and bone tumors such as osteosarcoma. These tumors can be difficult to treat, especially soft tissue tumors that are invasive and prone to coming back after surgery. However, if the bone tumor is in a limb, amputation can often be performed, leading to a better chance of recovery. It's important for cat owners to be aware of these potential issues, especially since some tumors can be linked to vaccinations.
People also search for: cat lump treatment · cat lameness causes · feline injection site sarcoma symptoms · osteosarcoma in cats · cat cancer prognosis
Abstract
PRACTICAL RELEVANCE: Musculoskeletal neoplasia is an uncommon but Important differential diagnosis for cats presenting with lameness, pain or swellings associated with bones and/or soft tissues. The most common tumours of soft tissue origin are the sarcomas (in particular feline injection site sarcomas [FISSs]); the most common bone tumour of the cat is osteosarcoma (OSA). CLINICAL CHALLENGES: FISSs present a clinical challenge in terms of their local invasiveness, difficulty in obtaining complete surgical excision and high risk of local recurrence. Axial and extraskeletal OSAs pose similar challenges, whereas appendicular OSA is usually easy to remove via limb amputation and can, therefore, carry a good prognosis in many cases. PATIENT GROUP: Cats of any age, gender or breed may be affected, although bone tumours predominantly affect middle- to old-aged cats. GLOBAL IMPORTANCE: Vaccination of cats is of global importance in preventing feline diseases; hence, any possible significant consequences of vaccination such as neoplasia, even of a low incidence, are of huge concern to cat owners and veterinarians alike. EVIDENCE BASE: This review is based on current literature relating to pathogenesis, pathology, presentation, diagnosis, staging, treatment and prognosis. It aims to summarise feline musculoskeletal neoplasia for clinicians in general practice.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22247324/