Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparing planned and actual tumor margins in dog mast cell tumor
By Risselada, Marije et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2015·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Surgically planned versus histologically measured lateral tumor margins for resection of cutaneous and subcutaneous mast cell tumors in dogs: 46 cases (2010-2013).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a skin tumor called a mast cell tumor (MCT) underwent surgery to remove it, but the actual tumor margins measured after surgery were found to be significantly smaller than what the surgeon had planned. This means that the tumor may have extended beyond what was visible, leading to a risk of leaving some cancerous cells behind. The study suggests that the way we measure these margins after surgery might not always reflect the true extent of the tumor. Pet owners should discuss with their veterinarians the importance of follow-up care and monitoring after MCT surgery to ensure all cancerous cells are removed.
People also search for: dog mast cell tumor surgery · mast cell tumor margins in dogs · dog skin tumor removal recovery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare preplanned lateral surgical margins and measured lateral histologic margins for cutaneous and subcutaneous mast cell tumor (MCT) resections in dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SAMPLE: 51 biopsy specimens from dogs (n = 46) with MCTs. PROCEDURES: All canine patients that underwent curative-intent surgical resection of cutaneous or subcutaneous MCTs from January 1, 2010, through June 30, 2013, with complete medical records including signalment, body condition score (BCS), surgery report (with measured surgical margins), and histopathology report were included. The surgically measured tumor margins in each quadrant were grouped and compared with the corresponding histologic margins. Specimens from dogs with truncal MCTs and a BCS of 7 to 9 on a scale from 1 to 9 (ie, high) were compared with those of dogs with a BCS of 4 to 6 to evaluate effect of BCS on tissue margins. RESULTS: 51 specimens were included. Surgically mapped lateral margins differed significantly from histologically reported margins in all 4 quadrants. The mean histologic margins were 35% to 42% smaller than the surgical margins for the combined 51 specimens. A higher BCS did not significantly influence the magnitude of the decrease in lateral margins measured histologically. No significant difference was found for the magnitude of the differences between any of the 4 lateral margins. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results of this study suggested that surgical and histologic margins may differ significantly for canine cutaneous and subcutaneous MCTs. This may be a result of tissue shrinkage following excision and fixation, extension of the MCT beyond palpable margins, or both. Histologic measurements may significantly underestimate the tumor-free margins in dogs with cutaneous and subcutaneous MCTs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26133218/