Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival after surgery for vertebral bone cancer in dogs
By Dixon, Alexandra et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2019·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Surgical decompression, with or without adjunctive therapy, for palliative treatment of primary vertebral osteosarcoma in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog diagnosed with vertebral osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer affecting the spine, underwent surgery to relieve pressure from the tumor. The study found that dogs who had surgery alone lived for about 42 days on average, while those who also received chemotherapy lived about 82 days. Dogs treated with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy had a much better outcome, surviving an average of 261 days. This suggests that combining radiation and chemotherapy with surgery can significantly extend survival for dogs with this serious condition.
People also search for: dog vertebral osteosarcoma treatment · dog spine cancer surgery · chemotherapy for dog bone cancer
Abstract
Vertebral osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary vertebral tumor in dogs, however studies examining the survival time after surgical decompression of these tumors are limited. There is also limited information regarding the benefit of adjunctive treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy in these patients. The goal of this study was to determine survival time of dogs with primary vertebral OSA after palliative decompressive surgery alone and combined with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. Records from 22 client-owned dogs diagnosed with primary vertebral OSA and treated with decompressive surgery were collected retrospectively from eight referral institutions. Survival time was assessed for dogs treated with surgery alone as well as dogs who received adjunctive radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. Median survival time in the 12 dogs treated with surgery alone was 42 days (range: 3-1333 days). The three dogs treated with surgery and chemotherapy had a median survival time of 82 days (range: 56-305 days). Only one dog was treated with surgery and radiation therapy; this dog survived 101 days. Six dogs were treated with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy; these dogs had a median survival time of 261 days (range: 223-653 days). Cause of death in all cases that survived the initial postoperative period was euthanasia secondary to confirmed or suspected tumor regrowth. The results of this study suggest that definitive radiation therapy, possibly combined with concurrent chemotherapy, significantly improves survival in dogs treated with palliative decompressive surgery for vertebral OSA and should be the treatment of choice in selected cases.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31099165/