Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Genital skin mast cell tumors in dogs are not more aggressive
By Žagar, Žiga et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·IVC Evidensia Small Animal Clinic Hofheim, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Preputial and scrotal cutaneous mast cell tumors in dogs show no evidence of inherently higher biologic malignancy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old male dog with a scrotal mast cell tumor was treated surgically, and the tumor was found to be low-grade, which is a positive sign. The study looked at 91 dogs with similar tumors and found that most had a good prognosis, with 85% surviving at least one year after treatment. While some dogs showed signs of metastasis, the overall survival rates were encouraging, especially for those without other serious risk factors. This suggests that scrotal and preputial mast cell tumors in dogs may not be as aggressive as previously thought, and many dogs can do well after treatment.
People also search for: dog scrotal tumor treatment · mast cell tumor prognosis in dogs · dog cancer survival rates
Abstract
Canine genital mast cell tumors (MCTs) have been associated with a poorer prognosis; however, no larger study has focused exclusively on MCTs in this region. This study aimed to retrospectively describe the clinicopathologic aspects and outcomes of dogs with cutaneous preputial and scrotal MCTs and compare the findings to historical data from cutaneous MCTs from other locations. Medical records from 2002 to 2024 from a single institution were reviewed and 91 dogs (35 preputial, 56 scrotal) treated surgically with or without adjuvant therapy and a minimum follow-up of 6 months were included. Tumors were graded according to Patnaik (preputial: 63% grade I, 31% grade II, 6% grade III; scrotal: 41% grade I, 38% grade II, 21% grade III) and Kiupel (preputial: 91% low-grade, 9% high-grade; scrotal: 79% low-grade, 21% high-grade). Histological evaluation of superficial inguinal lymph nodes was performed in 55% of cases (50 dogs); of these, 16% (8/50) showed HN3 metastases. The overall median survival time was not reached and the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 85%, 67%, and 60%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, Kiupel high-grade and tumor diameter of at least 2 cm were associated with a shorter overall survival time, while HN3 lymph node metastases, aberrant KIT staining pattern, and Ki-67 index >23 were not. This data does not provide evidence of an inherently high biologic aggressiveness of preputial and scrotal MCTs. In the absence of other negative prognostic factors, dogs with preputial and scrotal MCTs have a favorable prognosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41234408/