Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using cystourethroscopy to plan radiation for dog urinary cancers
By Freemyer, Clarissa C et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2024·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Use of Cystourethroscopy to Define the Gross Tumour Volume in Radiation Treatment Planning for Canine Genitourinary Carcinomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with genitourinary cancers underwent a procedure called cystourethroscopy to help plan their radiation treatment. This technique allowed veterinarians to see more of the tumor than what was visible on standard imaging, which helped them define a larger area to target with radiation. In nearly half of the cases, the cystourethroscopy revealed additional tumor extent that would have been missed otherwise. By using this method, the chances of missing parts of the tumor during treatment were significantly reduced, potentially improving the effectiveness of the radiation therapy.
People also search for: dog bladder cancer treatment · canine radiation therapy planning · cystourethroscopy for dogs
Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) is increasingly utilised for definitive-intent treatment of canine genitourinary carcinomas (CGUC). At our institution, the standard approach is to irradiate tomographically abnormal tissues gross tumour volume (GTV) plus a clinical target volume (CTV) expansion of 2 cm. Cystourethroscopy is often incorporated into the treatment planning workflow, though an optimal approach has yet to be defined. This observational study evaluated cystourethroscopy as a tool for identifying gross lesions that can be targeted with RT. We hypothesised that in most cases, addition of cystourethroscopy would result in a larger GTV than would be drawn with computed tomography (CT) alone. Medical records from 54 dogs diagnosed with CGUC between 2013 and 2023 were reviewed; each had been evaluated before RT using CT and cystourethroscopy. The GTV was initially defined as the tomographically evident disease on a post-contrast sagittal plane CT scan, and then lesions visualised with cystourethroscopy (suspected or confirmed to be tumour) were added. Beyond what was visible on CT, cystourethroscopy extended the GTV by a median of 6.5 cm distally into the urethra (range: 1.5-31.8 cm) and therefore resulted in GTV enlargement in 26 of 54 (48%) cases. Addition of our standard 2 cm CTV expansion to a CT-defined GTV (without use of data from cystourethroscopy) would have underestimated the extent of grossly abnormal tissue in 35% (19/54) of cases. These results suggest that incorporating cystourethroscopy into treatment planning workflows may improve local tumour control by reducing the risk of a geographic miss.
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/39313762/