Bone cancer in cats and dogs
Encyclopedia
The most common bone tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

 is called osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is an aggressive cancerous neoplasm arising from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin that exhibit osteoblastic differentiation and produce malignant osteoid...

, which usually affects older dogs or giant breed dogs. Osteosarcoma seems to be rare in cats. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 that can develop in any bone of the body but the majority is seen in the limbs (eg elbow or the knee).

Signs and symptoms

Dogs with limb osteosarcoma typically show lameness and swelling at the affected site. For other sites, dogs may show difficulty to open their mouth (if jaw bone cancer), nasal
discharge (if nasal cavity bone cancer) or neurological signs (if spine bone cancer).

Diagnosis

The initial evaluation involves X-rays of the affected site, but the only way to confirm the diagnosis is by tissue biopsy
Biopsy
A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...

.

Treatment

Depending on the pet's unique condition, there are several treatment options, including surgery, chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

 and radiation therapy
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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