Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation therapy options for bone cancer in dogs' legs
By Coomer, A et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2009·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Radiation therapy for canine appendicular osteosarcoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with appendicular osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) may experience pain and limping. For these dogs, radiation therapy can help relieve pain and improve mobility, especially when amputation isn't an option. While limb amputation and chemotherapy are standard treatments for curing this cancer, radiation can be used to manage symptoms and potentially spare the limb. When done correctly, radiation therapy usually has mild side effects. Many dogs see improvement in their comfort and quality of life with this treatment.
People also search for: dog osteosarcoma treatment · radiation therapy for dogs · dog limping pain relief · canine cancer palliative care · appendicular osteosarcoma in dogs
Abstract
Radiation therapy (RT) for the management of canine appendicular osteosarcoma (OSA) can be described as either palliative- or curative intent. Palliative RT uses coarsely fractionated external beam RT or radiopharmaceuticals to provide relief of pain and lameness associated with OSA while resulting in minimal, if any, radiation-induced acute adverse effects. Limb amputation and chemotherapy are considered (together) the standard of care for curative-intent treatment of canine appendicular OSA. When limb amputation is not possible, RT can be used for limb sparing and is supplemented with chemotherapy for presumed micrometastatic disease. Fractionated tumour irradiation with curative intent appears to be ineffective and local disease control can more likely be achieved when stereotactic radiosurgery or intra-operative extracorporeal irradiation is combined with strict case selection and adjunctive chemotherapy. The availability of limb-sparing RT is limited by experience and availability of specialised equipment. When planned and administered appropriately, radiation-associated adverse effects are often mild and self-limiting.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19222827/