Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Radiation therapy for liver cancer in a Toy Poodle dog
By Yang, Ester et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2021·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of imaging-guided intensity-modulated stereotactic body radiation therapy to treat a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 14-year-old Toy Poodle was brought in because of high liver enzyme levels and a large mass in the liver. After surgery to remove part of the mass, the dog received a specialized radiation treatment over five days to target the remaining tumor. Over the next ten months, the mass shrank and the dog's liver enzyme levels improved significantly. This case suggests that radiation therapy can be an effective option for dogs with liver tumors that couldn't be completely removed by surgery.
People also search for: dog liver mass treatment · Toy Poodle liver cancer · radiation therapy for dogs liver tumor
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 14-year-old 5.6-kg (12.3-lb) castrated male Toy Poodle was evaluated because of high serum activities of alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase and the presence of a hepatic mass. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Abdominal CT revealed a large (approx 6.8 × 7.1 × 6.5-cm) soft tissue mass along the midline of the liver. The mass either originated from the papillary process of the caudate lobe or the left medial liver lobe. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: A partial liver lobectomy was performed, and approximately a third of the mass was successfully removed and submitted for histologic examination. Consultation with the oncology service was advised to determine whether radiation therapy could be used to treat the residual disease. On 5 consecutive days, the dog underwent imaging-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy-stereotactic body radiation therapy (4 Gy/treatment) with a simultaneous integrated boost to the center of the tumor. The dog received a base dose of 20 Gy that was then boosted to 28 Gy. In the 10-month period after completion of radiation therapy, the hepatocellular mass continued to decrease in size, and overall improvements in the dog's serum liver enzyme abnormalities were evident. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: There are few treatment options for dogs with incompletely excised hepatocellular carcinomas. On the basis of the positive outcome in this case, radiation therapy could be useful following incomplete surgical removal of hepatocellular carcinomas in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34337964/