Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation therapy for the treatment of tumours in small companion animals.
- Journal:
- Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
- Year:
- 2002
- Authors:
- Moore, Antony S
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Sciences · United States
Plain-English summary
Radiation therapy is becoming a common option for treating tumors in pets like cats and dogs. There are different types of machines used for this treatment, with some being better suited for smaller animals because they can deliver more targeted radiation. While pets may experience some immediate side effects from the radiation, these usually go away without causing major problems. However, higher doses can lead to more serious long-term effects, so using smaller doses can help avoid these issues and improve the chances of successfully controlling the tumor. Overall, radiation therapy can effectively manage certain types of tumors in pets, especially mast cell tumors and soft tissue sarcomas.
Abstract
Radiation is becoming widely available to treat tumours in veterinary patients. Orthovoltage machines capable of delivering low energy external beam radiation are less versatile than linear accelerators and cobalt-60 machines that deliver megavoltage radiation. In addition, electron beam capabilities that are available with some linear accelerators allow more targeted treatment in smaller patients. Acute effects of radiation are to be expected, but in nearly all cases such side effects resolve without limiting protocols. In contrast, late effects of radiation are dose limiting and are more likely with higher doses per treatment fraction. Protocols that use smaller doses per fraction have a lower risk of late effects thereby allowing higher total doses to be delivered which leads to higher tumour control rates. It is possible to provide long-term tumour control in cats and dogs using radiation therapy, particularly for mast cell tumours, soft tissue sarcomas, oral tumours and brain tumours in dogs and soft tissue sarcomas and skin tumours in cats. Individualization of treatments for tumours based on tumour staging and proliferative fraction should be considered, rather than making blanket assumptions about the behaviour of histologically determined tumour types.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12505390/