Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
X-ray signs of benign and cancer-linked bone infarcts in dogs
By Jones, Sarah A et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2020·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Radiographic features of histologically benign bone infarcts and bone infarcts associated with neoplasia in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 49 dogs with bone issues were examined to see if X-rays could help tell the difference between harmless bone damage and that linked to tumors. The study found that X-rays were not very effective in making this distinction, as many benign and malignant cases looked similar on the images. While certain patterns were noted, like aggressive bone changes, both types of conditions showed overlapping features. This means that if your dog has bone problems, your vet may need to rely on other tests beyond X-rays to determine the cause.
People also search for: dog bone tumor symptoms · dog bone pain treatment · how to tell if dog has bone cancer
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the radiographic appearance of benign bone infarcts and bone infarcts associated with neoplasia in dogs and determine the utility of radiography in differentiating benign and malignancy-associated bone infarcts. SAMPLE: 49 dogs with benign (n = 33) or malignancy-associated (16) infarcts involving the appendicular skeleton. PROCEDURES: A retrospective cohort study was performed by searching a referral osteopathology database for cases involving dogs with a histologic diagnosis of bone infarction. Case radiographs were anonymized and reviewed by 2 board-certified veterinary radiologists blinded to the histologic classification. Radiographic features commonly used to differentiate aggressive from nonaggressive osseous lesions were recorded, and reviewers classified each case as likely benign infarct, likely malignancy-associated infarct, or undistinguishable. RESULTS: Only 16 (48%) of the benign infarcts and 6 (38%) of the malignancy-associated infarcts were correctly classified by both reviewers. Medullary lysis pattern and periosteal proliferation pattern were significantly associated with histologic classification. Although all 16 (100%) malignancy-associated lesions had aggressive medullary lysis, 23 of the 33 (70%) benign lesions also did. Eight of the 16 (50%) malignancy-associated infarcts had aggressive periosteal proliferation, compared with 7 of the 33 (21%) benign infarcts. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that radiography was not particularly helpful in distinguishing benign from malignancy-associated bone infarcts in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32459590/