Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in injection-site sarcomas in cats from 1990 to 2006
By Shaw, Stephen C et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2009·William R. Prichard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Temporal changes in characteristics of injection-site sarcomas in cats: 392 cases (1990-2006).
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at injection-site sarcomas (ISSs), which are tumors that can develop in cats after vaccinations, to see how their characteristics changed over time. Researchers found that after new vaccination guidelines were published in 1996, fewer tumors appeared in the common injection areas between the shoulder blades and the chest. However, there was an increase in tumors in the limbs and abdomen, which can be harder to treat. This suggests that while vets are trying to follow the guidelines, they still need to be careful about where they give vaccinations to help prevent these serious tumors.
People also search for: cat injection site sarcoma treatment · why does my cat have a lump after vaccination · feline vaccination guidelines
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in characteristics of feline injection-site sarcomas (ISSs) from 1990 through 2006. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 392 cats with a histologic diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma, osteosarcoma, or chondrosarcoma at potential injection sites. PROCEDURES: Classification and anatomic location of tumors and signalment of affected cats were compared between ISSs diagnosed before and after publication of the Vaccine Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force vaccination recommendations in 1996. RESULTS: From before to after publication of the vaccination recommendations, proportions of ISSs significantly decreased in the interscapular (53.4% to 39.5%) and right and left thoracic (10.2% to 3.6% and 9.1% to 1.3%, respectively) regions. On the other hand, proportions of ISSs significantly increased in the right thoracic limb (1.1% to 9.5%) and the combined regions of the right pelvic limb with right lateral aspect of the abdomen (12.5% to 25.0%) and the left pelvic limb with left lateral aspect of the abdomen (11.4% to 13.8%). Patterns of tumor classification and signalment did not change. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Despite publication of the vaccination recommendations, a high proportion of tumors still developed in the interscapular region. There was also an increase in lateral abdominal ISSs, which are more difficult to treat and are likely attributable to aberrant placement of injections intended for the pelvic limbs. Veterinarians are complying with vaccination recommendations to some extent, but they need to focus on administering vaccines as distally as possible on a limb to allow for complete surgical margins if amputation of a limb is required.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19210260/