Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Electrochemotherapy results for low and high grade mast cell tumors
By Ojeda, Javier et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2026·Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Outcome of dogs with low- and high-grade mast cell tumors treated with electrochemotherapy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 dogs with skin tumors called mast cell tumors (MCTs) were treated with a method called electrochemotherapy (ECT) to see how well it worked. The results showed that 100% of dogs with low-grade tumors responded well to the treatment, while only 45% of those with high-grade tumors did. Dogs with low-grade tumors lived an average of about 1,198 days after treatment, compared to 210 days for those with high-grade tumors. ECT proved to be a good option for treating low-grade MCTs, often working as well as surgery, while it was less effective for high-grade tumors.
People also search for: dog mast cell tumor treatment · electrochemotherapy for dogs · high-grade mast cell tumor prognosis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mast cell tumors (MCTs) in dogs pose therapeutic challenges that vary with histopathological grade. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) alone would result in a clinically meaningful response in nonmetastatic cutaneous MCTs, with efficacy varying by tumor grade. ANIMALS: Twenty-nine client-owned dogs with 39 nonmetastatic cutaneous MCTs were treated at a veterinary oncology referral center. Tumors were classified as low grade (n = 27) or high grade (n = 12) according to the Kiupel system. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated outcomes after ECT as the sole treatment. The primary outcomes were complete remission (CR) rate, median survival time, and disease-free interval. Electrochemotherapy was administered using standardized protocols, with follow-up ranging from 30 to 1600 days. RESULTS: Overall complete remission rate was 79% (95% CI, 63.5-90.7). Complete remission was achieved in 100% of low-grade tumors (27/27; 95% CI, 87.2-100) versus 45% of high-grade tumors (5/12; 95% CI, 18.1-75.4). Median survival time was 1198 days (range 188-1920 days) for low-grade MCTs and 210 days (range 45-765 days) for high-grade MCTs (P = .001). Median disease-free interval was 1080 days (range 188-1920 days) and 455 days (range 45-865 days) for low- and high-grade tumors, respectively. Median tumor volume was 4.8 cm3; low-grade tumors were generally smaller. The average number of treatments was 1.1 for low-grade and 1.6 for high-grade tumors. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: ECT is an effective local treatment for low-grade MCTs, offering outcomes comparable to surgical management. For high-grade tumors, its benefit is limited to small-volume disease where surgery is not feasible.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41742563/