Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Short- and long-term outcomes associated with anal sacculectomy in dogs with massive apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 2023
- Authors:
- Griffin, Maureen A et al.
- Affiliation:
- School of Veterinary Medicine · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
This study looked at the outcomes for 28 dogs that had surgery to remove their anal sacs because they had a large tumor called apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma, which was over 5 cm in size. During the surgery, many of these dogs also had lymph nodes removed, especially if there was a concern that the cancer had spread there. While some dogs had complications during or after the surgery, none experienced long-term issues like permanent loss of bowel control. The results showed that even though many dogs had a recurrence of the cancer or it spread to other areas, they still lived for a median of about 671 days after the surgery. Overall, the surgery helped these dogs live longer, despite the challenges of the disease.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate short- and long-term outcomes for dogs undergoing anal sacculectomy for massive (> 5 cm) apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASACA). ANIMALS: 28 client-owned dogs with massive AGASACA. PROCEDURES: A retrospective multi-institutional study was performed. Pre-, intra-, and post-operative data was collected, and variables were statistically analyzed for associations with progression-free interval (PFI) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: At the time of anal sacculectomy, 19 (68%) dogs underwent concurrent iliosacral lymph node extirpation, including 17 of 18 (94%) dogs with suspected nodal metastasis preoperatively. Five (18%) dogs experienced grade 2 intraoperative complications. Ten (36%) dogs experienced postoperative complications, including 1 grade 3 and 1 grade 4 complication. No dogs had permanent fecal incontinence, tenesmus, or anal stenosis. Nineteen dogs received adjuvant chemotherapy, radiation, or both. Local recurrence occurred in 37% of dogs. Dogs with lymph node metastasis at surgery were more likely than dogs without metastasis to develop new/progressive lymph node metastasis (10/17 [59%] vs 0/10 [0%]; P = .003) and distant metastasis (7/17 [41%] vs 0/10 [0%]; P = .026). Median PFI was 204 days (95% CI, 145 to 392). Median OS was 671 days (95% CI, 225 to upper limit not reached). Nodal metastasis at the time of surgery was associated with shorter PFI (P = .017) but not OS (P = .26). Adjuvant therapy was not associated with outcome. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dogs with massive AGASACA experienced prolonged survival following anal sacculectomy despite a high incidence of local recurrence and metastasis. Lymph node metastasis at the time of surgery was a negative prognostic indicator for PFI but not OS.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37225157/