Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Serum VEGF levels in dogs with splenic haemangiosarcoma or haematoma
By Frenz, Meike et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2014·Tierä, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum vascular endothelial growth factor in dogs with haemangiosarcoma and haematoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old Golden Retriever was diagnosed with a splenic mass after showing signs of lethargy and abdominal swelling. Blood tests revealed high levels of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is often linked to tumors. While the VEGF levels were higher in dogs with splenic masses compared to healthy dogs, they did not help distinguish between malignant tumors like haemangiosarcoma and benign conditions like haematomas. This suggests that while VEGF can indicate the presence of splenic issues, it may not be reliable for determining the type of lesion.
People also search for: dog splenic mass symptoms · Golden Retriever abdominal swelling · high VEGF levels in dogs
Abstract
Splenic haemangiosarcomas are frequently seen in dogs. Because of their bad prognosis differentiation from other benign splenic lesions are of prognostic importance. However, because haemangiosarcoma is a tumour of the vascular system, it was hypothesised that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) might play a major role in tumour growth and might thus be increased in the blood of affected dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of differences in serum VEGF concentrations between dogs with splenic haemangiosarcomas and those with non-malignant splenic lesions (haematomas) and healthy subjects using a canine ELISA. Serum VEGF levels were significantly higher in dogs with splenic masses compared with healthy dogs, but did not differ significantly between dogs with haemangiosarcomas and haematomas. VEGF has a potential clinical utility as a diagnostic marker for dogs with splenic lesions but may not be useful to differentiate among the various splenic lesions.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25241388/