Oncology
6th Annual Gulf-Atlantic Veterinary Conference
Heidi Ward, DVM, DACVIM
Veterinary Oncologist
Gulfcoast Veterinary Oncology and Internal Medicine
The biologic behavior of canine mast cell tumors (MCTs) varies from patient to patient. Certain clinical features obtained from the history, physical examination and laboratory analysis carry a poorer prognosis than others. This session will discuss the importance of obtaining a thorough history and physical examination. It will highlight what abnormalities to look for and feature potential changes one may find on CBC, profile, radiographic, lymph node aspirate, abdominal ultrasound, bone marrow aspirate and buffy coat analysis. Each of these abnormalities will be discussed in terms of their consequences and roles in treatment planning. Clinical prognostic features based upon tumor location extracted from information reported in published retrospective studies will also be detailed. This session will also explain how the Patnaik and Kiupel system is used to determine mast cell grades. It will also detail what aspects of the histopathology report are important, what factors were taken into consideration for the pathologist to grade the tumor and teach the rationale for determining which course of therapy is warranted on a case-by-case basis. Treatment options including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and targeted therapy utilizing tyrosine kinase inhibitors will be discussed. Treatment protocols and response rates based upon retrospective studies of dogs with mast cell tumors will be outlined.