Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cancerous melanocyte fluid buildup in Portuguese water dog chest
By Corda, Erica et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2020·Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neoplastic melanocytic pleural effusion in a Portuguese water dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old castrated male Portuguese water dog was brought in after surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his lip. After thorough testing, the vet found no signs that the cancer had spread, so they performed another surgery to completely remove the tumor. The dog then received four doses of a melanoma vaccine to help prevent the cancer from returning and seemed healthy for several months. Unfortunately, about 7 months later, the dog was euthanized due to worsening health from lung metastases and fluid buildup caused by the cancer.
People also search for: Portuguese water dog melanoma treatment · dog cancer vaccine effectiveness · signs of dog lung cancer
Abstract
A 9-year-old castrated male Portuguese water dog was presented following incomplete excision of a malignant melanoma at the left lip commissure by the referring veterinarian. Physical examination was otherwise unremarkable. The patient was staged using thoracic radiographs, abdominal ultrasound, and fine-needle aspirates of the mandibular lymph nodes and spleen. Given the absence of any definitive evidence of metastasis, the malignant melanoma was surgically completely removed. The dog then received four melanoma vaccine doses as an adjuvant therapy and remained clinically healthy for more than 3 months after the last immunization. However, 232 days after the initial discovery of the lip mass, the dog was euthanized due to deterioration and a poor prognosis based on the presence of lung metastases and neoplastic melanocytic pleural effusion. The latter has been rarely reported in dogs, despite the high prevalence of oral malignant melanomas and the tendency of these tumors to metastasize to the lungs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33617052/