Complications and outcomes after stomach cancer surgery in dogs

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical characteristics, perioperative complications, and outcomes in dogs surgically treated for gastric carcinoma. STUDY DESIGN Multi-institutional retrospective case series. ANIMALS Forty client-owned dogs with histologically confirmed gastric carcinoma. METHODS Medical records were reviewed for preoperative diagnostics, surgery, histopathology, postoperative complications, adjuvant chemotherapy, disease progression, and survival. Variables were assessed for associations with outcome by using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. RESULTS Surgical treatment included partial gastrectomy (28 dogs), Billroth I (9 dogs), subtotal gastrectomy (2 dogs), and submucosal resection (1 dog). Major postoperative complications occurred in 8 of 40 dogs, including septic peritonitis secondary to dehiscence in 4 dogs. The median progression free interval was 54 days, and the median survival time (MST) was 178 days (range, 1-1902). According to multivariable analysis results, experiencing an intraoperative complication was associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] 3.5, 95% CI 1.1-9.8, P = .005), and administration of adjuvant chemotherapy correlated with an improved survival (HR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.9, P = .03). CONCLUSION In this population of dogs, MST exceeded historically reported data, major postoperative complication rates were comparable to established literature, and administration of adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with improved survival. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Results from this study may be used to counsel owners more accurately regarding prognosis for dogs undergoing surgical excision for gastric carcinoma.