Clinical follow-up of canine mast cell tumour cases diagnosed by cytology and histopathology

Abstract

Canine mast cell tumours (MCT) are malignant neoplasms, and are possibly the most common skin cancers in dogs. A precise diagnosis is fundamental in making appropriate therapeutic decisions and thus avoiding a poor prognosis, which frequently ends in rapid death. In this study, data from 59 dogs diagnosed with mast cell tumours of three malignancy grades were selected and clinical follow-up was carried out over 47 months to determine the relationship between the decision to perform surgery, the degree of tumour malignancy and the survival status of the animals. The results showed that the majority of affected animals died as a result of the disease, some of which had undergone surgical treatment. The surviving dogs were diagnosed mostly with mast cell tumours of low malignancy. There was no significant association between surgery and survival. We conclude that cytological analysis is fundamental for an early diagnosis of canine MCTs and enable a more accurate prognosis to guide subsequent treatment. We discuss the need for clear malignancy criteria allowing for adequate cytological classification of these lesions.