Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation therapy safety and results for dog thyroid cancer
By Lee, Ber-In et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2020·Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for the treatment of canine thyroid carcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with thyroid cancer that couldn't be surgically removed received a specialized radiation treatment called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Out of 23 dogs treated, 70% showed improvement in their symptoms within about 16 days, and the overall response rate was 70%. The dogs experienced minimal side effects, with most only having mild reactions. On average, the dogs lived for about a year after treatment, with some living even longer. SBRT proved to be a safe and effective option for dogs with this type of cancer.
People also search for: dog thyroid cancer treatment · stereotactic radiation therapy for dogs · canine thyroid carcinoma prognosis
Abstract
Thyroid carcinoma develops spontaneously in dogs, with only 25% to 50% of cases amenable to surgery at diagnosis. Local control for unresectable tumours can be provided with external beam radiotherapy. The aim of this retrospective study is to describe the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for treatment of canine thyroid carcinoma. Twenty-three dogs met inclusion criteria; median tumour volume before SBRT was 129.9 cm(range, 2.7-452.8 cm). Sixteen patients (70%) had unresectable tumours. Pulmonary metastasis was present or suspected in 10 patients (44%) before SBRT. Patients were prescribed 15 to 40 Gy to targeted tumour volume in one to five fractions. Twenty patients evaluated had overall response rate of 70% (complete response, n = 4; partial response, n = 10). Thirteen out of sixteen (81%) symptomatic patients had clinical improvement within a median time of 16 days (range, 2-79 days). Median progression free survival (MPFS) was 315 days. Median survival time (MST) was 362 days. Nine patients (39%) had grade 1 acute radiation toxicity. Three patients had grade 1 late radiation toxicity (two leukotrichia and one [4%] with intermittent cough). Responders had significantly longer MPFS (362 vs 90 days; HR 4.3; 95% CI 1.4-13.5; P = .013) and MST (455 vs 90 days; HR 2.9; 95% CI 1-8.4; P = .053). Presenting with metastasis was not a significant negative prognostic factor (MST 347 vs 348 days without metastasis; P = .352). SBRT is a safe and effective treatment modality for non-resectable canine thyroid carcinoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32515526/