Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Principles of treatment for soft-tissue sarcomas in the dog.
- Journal:
- Clinical techniques in small animal practice
- Year:
- 2003
- Authors:
- Ettinger, Susan N
- Affiliation:
- Animal Medical Center · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Soft-tissue sarcomas are tumors that can develop from various types of connective tissues in dogs. These tumors tend to grow in a way that makes them hard to remove completely, and they often come back after surgery if not treated aggressively. To plan the best treatment, veterinarians usually take a small sample of the tumor first to understand its type and severity. The most effective way to treat these tumors is through surgery, often combined with other treatments like radiation therapy, especially if the tumor can't be fully removed. Overall, the success of treatment depends on careful planning and the specific characteristics of the tumor.
Abstract
Soft-tissue sarcomas develop from a variety of mesenchymal tissues, but they are often considered collectively, due to similarity in clinical behavior and histologic features. These tumors are locally invasive, with poorly defined histologic margins and neoplastic cells that often infiltrate through fascial planes. In general, local recurrence is common following conservative excision. Pretreatment biopsy provides information on tumor type and grade, which will allow the clinician to properly plan for an aggressive first surgery. Adopted from human medicine, the canine histopathologic grading system is predictive. Specifically, mitotic rate is predictive for metastasis, and necrosis and mitotic rate are predictive for survival. Diagnostic imaging is useful to determine the extent of disease and for treatment planning. The most effective treatment for soft-tissue sarcomas is surgical excision. Surgery with curative intent requires preoperative biopsy, planning, and a wide first excision. Increasingly, surgery is being replaced by a combined-modality approach. Radiation therapy plays an important role in the management of soft-tissue sarcomas, but it has little role as a single treatment modality. Radiation therapy is appropriate for incompletely excised tumors or for preoperative treatment. Chemotherapy's role is most appropriate in the adjunct setting, and is mainly used to treat incompletely resected tumors, high-grade tumors, and metastatic disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12831074/