Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How MRI shows surgery success for brain tumors in dogs
By Rossmeisl, John H et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2026·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prognostic Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Defined Extent of Surgical Resection in Dogs With Intracranial Meningiomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with brain tumors called meningiomas underwent surgery to remove the tumors, and researchers looked at how much of the tumor was successfully removed. They found that dogs who had a complete removal of the tumor (gross total resection) lived longer and had fewer seizures compared to those who had only part of the tumor removed (subtotal resection). Specifically, dogs with complete removal had an average survival of nearly two years, while those with partial removal survived about a year. This study suggests that complete tumor removal leads to better outcomes, and veterinarians should use MRI after surgery to check how much of the tumor was taken out to help guide further treatment if needed.
People also search for: dog brain tumor surgery · meningioma treatment for dogs · dog seizure after brain surgery
Abstract
Surgery is a common treatment for intracranial meningiomas in dogs, although the prognostic impact of the extent of resection (EOR) has not been systematically evaluated. This retrospective study identified prognostic factors associated with clinical outcomes in dogs that underwent surgery and early post-operative magnetic resonance imaging (epoMRI) to evaluate meningioma EOR. We hypothesised that gross total tumour resection (GTR) would result in longer progression free (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and superior post-operative seizure control and resolution of neurological dysfunction than subtotal resection (STR). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify prognostic factors, and Kaplan-Meier analyses to compare survival outcomes. Forty-one dogs were included of which 24 (59%) had GTR and 17 (41%) had STR. GTR was associated with decreased rates of tumour progression (HR = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.09-0.42; p < 0.0001) and death (HR = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.14-0.69; p < 0.0001), and longer PFS (618 vs. 189 days, p < 0.0001) and OS (694 vs. 349 days, p < 0.0001) compared to STR. Higher tumour grade and increasing age negatively impacted PFS and OS, respectively. Seizure freedom was attained in a larger proportion of dogs with GTR (18/20 [90%]) than STR (4/13 [31%]; p < 0.001), but rates of improvement of neurological deficits were not different between groups. GTR resulted in durable clinical improvements and survivals in the absence of adjuvant treatments. EpoMRI to assess EOR should be routinely incorporated into management of canine meningiomas to inform outcome expectations, and to identify STR cases in which adjuvant therapies should be considered.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41539479/