Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Male dogs more likely to get oronasal transmissible venereal tumours
By Strakova, Andrea et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2022·Department of Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sex disparity in oronasal presentations of canine transmissible venereal tumour.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that male dogs are significantly more likely to develop oronasal transmissible venereal tumors (CTVT), a rare type of contagious cancer that can occur when dogs lick or sniff infected areas. Out of 32 cases of oronasal CTVT, 27 were in male dogs, suggesting they are four to five times more at risk than females. This increased risk may be linked to differences in how male and female dogs engage in licking and sniffing behaviors. If your male dog has unusual growths or tumors in the mouth or nose, it’s important to discuss the possibility of oronasal CTVT with your veterinarian.
People also search for: dog mouth tumor · male dog cancer symptoms · transmissible venereal tumor in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is a contagious cancer spread by the direct transfer of living cancer cells. CTVT usually spreads during mating, manifesting as genital tumours. However, oronasal CTVT is also occasionally observed, and presumably arises through oronasal contact with genital CTVT tumours during sniffing and licking. METHODS: Given that sniffing and licking transmission behaviours may differ between sexes, we investigated whether oronasal CTVT shows sex disparity. RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 32 (84%) primary oronasal tumours in a CTVT tumour database occurred in males. In addition, 53 of 65 (82%) primary oronasal CTVT tumours reported in the published literature involved male hosts. These findings suggest that male dogs are at four to five times greater risk of developing primary oronasal CTVT than females. This disparity may be due to sex differences in licking and sniffing activity, perhaps also influenced by sex differences in CTVT accessibility for these behaviours. CONCLUSION: Although oronasal CTVT is rare, it should be considered as a possible diagnosis for oronasal tumours, particularly in male dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35781651/