Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
CT scan signs that predict cancer and survival in dogs with adrenal
By Snell, William L et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Preoperative Computed Tomography Features as Predictors of Malignancy and Survival in Canine Adrenal Tumours.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at dogs with adrenal tumors, which can be serious, to see how certain imaging features might predict whether the tumor is cancerous and how long the dog might live after surgery. They found that dogs who had one adrenal gland removed (unilateral adrenalectomy) tended to live longer than those who had both removed (bilateral adrenalectomy). Factors like age and whether the dog had other surgeries at the same time also influenced survival. Overall, the median survival time for these dogs was around 671 days, giving pet owners important information about what to expect after surgery.
People also search for: dog adrenal tumor survival rate · canine adrenalectomy recovery · dog cancer prognosis after surgery
Abstract
As computed tomography (CT) becomes more commonly used in clinical practice for staging and surgical planning of dogs with adrenal tumours, there remain few reports on CT characteristics of malignant adrenal tumours and none that correlate imaging findings with survival. This retrospective study attempts to evaluate preoperative CT characteristics that are associated with malignancy and those that may be associated with shorter survival in dogs with surgically addressed adrenal tumours. CT scans performed at a single tertiary care facility were examined by a single blinded radiologist, and the findings were correlated with histopathology results as well as short- and long-term survival. A total of 226 adrenal tumours were assessed from 201 individual patients. The overall median survival time for adrenal tumours was 671 days. Dogs undergoing unilateral versus bilateral adrenalectomies had longer survival, with a median survival time of 697 versus 623 days (p = 0.02). Consensus histopathologic diagnosis as malignant versus benign was not associated with a significantly shorter survival time, 952 versus 1514 days, p = 0.04, q = 0.25. No CT features were associated with shortened long-term survival times on multivariate analysis. Excluding deaths within 24 h of surgery, splenectomy was predictive for hazard of death and was retained on multivariate analysis p = 0.03, HR = 2.33. Age (p = 0.0001, HR = 1.23) and concurrent ureteronephrectomy at the time of adrenalectomy (p = 0.042, HR = 2.45) were shown to affect long-term survival and were retained on multivariate analysis. This information may be useful when prognosticating outcomes for pet owners presenting for surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40841179/