Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Outcomes after anal sac removal in dogs with large anal gland cancer
By Griffin, Maureen A et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2023·School of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Short- and long-term outcomes associated with anal sacculectomy in dogs with massive apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 28 dogs with a serious type of anal gland cancer underwent surgery to remove the affected anal sacs. Many of these dogs also had lymph nodes removed due to suspected cancer spread. While some dogs faced complications during and after surgery, none experienced long-term issues like incontinence. The results showed that dogs with lymph node involvement at the time of surgery had a higher chance of cancer returning or spreading, but overall, many dogs lived longer after the surgery, with a median survival time of about 22 months.
People also search for: dog anal gland cancer treatment · anal sacculectomy recovery · dog cancer lymph node involvement · anal sac adenocarcinoma prognosis
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 on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37225157/