DIAGNOSING SKIN TUMORS IN YOUR PET
The most common location for a dog
to develop a mass is on the skin or underneath the skin surface. These types of masses may not be as common in
the cat, but can still occur. Most of
the time, these masses are found while you are petting or playing with your pet
at home. Sometimes, masses can be found
by the family veterinarian at annual wellness visits. Annual visits to the veterinarian are
important for many reasons as your pet ages.
Locating and diagnosing new masses is just one example of the importance
for these wellness visits.
There
are a variety of tumor types that occur on the skin or underneath the
skin. Your veterinarian may be able to
narrow down the possible tumor types based on appearance, however, the best way
to definitively figure out the origin of a mass is to perform a fine needle
aspirate or a biopsy. There are
exceptions to this recommendation in cases where pets have small warts or skin
tags. Those may appear like small masses
on the skin and they may not be able to be aspirated or biopsied due to their small
size.
A fine
needle aspirate is a non-invasive test to determine the origin of a mass. A small needle (about the same size that
would be used to draw blood) is inserted into the mass. Some cells from the mass will enter the
needle when it is inserted into the mass.
These cells are then spread onto a glass slide for evaluation. Sometimes your veterinarian may be able to
evaluate the cells under the microscope, but there are times when the slides
are sent to a pathologist for review. On some occasions, your veterinarian and a pathologist may be unable to determine the origin of a mass based on fine needle aspirate alone. Some tumor types, both benign and malignant, will not release their cells very easily and can be difficult to diagnose with a fine needle aspirate. At this point, a biopsy may be necessary. For a biopsy, your pet may need to be sedated or placed under general anesthesia in order for a small piece of tissue to be obtained. Alternatively, a biopsy may be able to be performed with just a local anesthetic. Once the tissue sample is obtained, it is placed in formaldehyde and sent to a pathologist for review. A biopsy may provide more useful information to your veterinarian or veterinary oncologist than a fine needle aspirate. Since more tissue is available for review, different parameters such as tumor subtype, grade, and how fast it is growing can be determined from the biopsy. These are important parameters to determine how aggressive the tumor is behaving and what your pet’s prognosis is with or without treatment.
If you
are concerned about a mass present on your pet, please contact your
veterinarian for evaluation. A
veterinary oncologist may be contacted to discuss treatment options if your pet
is diagnosed with a malignant tumor.
Blog by:
Karri Miller DVM, MS, DACVM (Oncology)
Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice
Dr. Karri Miller provides Skype and Phone consultations to families across the United States
whose pets have been diagnosed with cancer. As a Board Certified
Oncologist, she will be able to provide your family with information
about cancer, treatment options, and expectations.
Blog originally prepared for the Lakeland Ledger (Florida)
Posted by Vet Mary Gardner
Having just lost my second basset baby to a form of cancer, I would urge any pet owner who has been given a diagnosis of cancer, for their pet, to seek advise from "Lap of Love". Pet parents, please get a second opinion, if you are in question of the diagnosis. Research and find out all of the treatment options available.
ReplyDeleteI just found out about "Lap of Love" and will never forget about them. You and your pet will have confort knowing that you have people who care, guiding you along the way!