Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Tonsillar cancer in dogs - treatment results and outlook
By Treggiari, Elisabetta et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·Centro Specialistico Veterinario, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tonsillar carcinoma in dogs: Treatment outcome and potential prognostic factors in 123 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 123 dogs diagnosed with tonsillar carcinoma (a type of throat cancer) were treated with various methods including surgery, chemotherapy, and pain relief medications. The results showed that dogs who had surgery and received additional chemotherapy or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) tended to live longer, especially if they showed no signs of the disease spreading. On average, dogs lived about 126 days after treatment, but those without metastasis had a median survival of 381 days. While treatment can improve outcomes, the overall prognosis for tonsillar carcinoma in dogs remains poor.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tonsillar carcinomas are rarely reported in dogs. Information on outcome after treatment is sparse and prognosis is guarded to poor. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Assess treatment outcome and potential prognostic factors in a population of dogs with cytological or histopathological diagnosis of tonsillar carcinoma. ANIMALS: A total of 123 client-owned dogs with diagnosis of tonsillar carcinoma confirmed by cytology or histopathology. METHODS: Retrospective, multi-institutional study. Medical records of 12 institutions were reviewed from 2012 to 2021. RESULTS: Treatment included surgery, chemotherapy (conventional, tyrosine kinase inhibitors or metronomic chemotherapy), radiotherapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or a combination of these. Surgery was performed in 68 cases, chemotherapy was administered in association with NSAIDs in 64 cases, NSAIDs were used alone in 14 cases and in association with surgery in 21 cases, whereas radiotherapy was used alone or in combination with surgery or chemotherapy in 20 cases. Overall survival time (OST) was 126 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 88-164). Significantly longer survival (P < .001) was seen in dogs without evidence of metastatic disease (median survival time, 381 days; 95% CI, 116-646). Other significant positive prognostic factors included absence of clinicals signs at presentation, surgery (tonsillectomy), use of adjuvant chemotherapy and use of NSAIDs. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Asymptomatic dogs, those treated with surgery, those that received adjuvant chemotherapy, and those that received NSAIDs may have a better prognosis than previously expected, but overall survival remains short for dogs with tonsillar carcinoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36705533/