What are skin masses?

These are any growth that occurs from within the skin. They can range from small, benign masses such as sebaceous gland adenomas (tumours of the glands associated with the hair follicles in dogs) and histiocytomas (a benign growth seen more commonly in young dogs) to more extensive tumours such as mast cell tumours (MCT) and soft tissue sarcomas (STS).

Treatment options

Some, such as sebaceous gland adenomas in older dogs and histiocytomas in younger dogs, usually do not require treatment and can be left alone and monitored. Other tumours, such as soft tissue sarcomas and mast cell tumours, should be removed where possible as they will continue to grow and may often spread. Early treatment markedly increases the chances of a successful outcome and with no reduction in your pet’s life expectancy. The longer we leave them, the more difficult and costlier they are to remove and the greater the chance that they have also spread.

Surgical removal

Surgical removal is the mainstay of treatment, often with removal of 1cm or more of normal tissue beside and beneath these masses, where possible. The mass can then be sent away for histopathology to check whether it has been completely removed, and what type of tumour it is. Tumour type affects further choices from here, such as whether chemotherapy may also be appropriate.

Recovery and aftercare

Your pet will usually go home the same day as surgery. Care requirements at home are not onerous, and usually only involve keeping the dog quieter than normal for a few days and not allowing them to lick extensively at the surgery area.

What are splenic tumours?

These are tumours (masses) that develop within the spleen. They can be benign (haemangiomas, which don’t spread) or metastatic (hemangiosarcomas, which have often spread beyond the spleen by the time of diagnosis). Often the first symptom seen in many cases is weakness or collapse, which comes after the tumour has ruptured and the dog is bleeding internally. Other symptoms can include weight loss, weakness, abdomen enlargement and pale gums due to blood loss.

Common breeds affected

Dog breeds that are more predisposed to developing this type of tumour include: Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Boxers and Pointers.

Diagnoses methods

Sometimes a mass can be felt on palpation of the abdomen. X-rays can also often reveal the presence of a mass and the position may suggest a splenic mass. A blood test can be undertaken to check if there has been blood loss, again this is suggestive of a possible splenic mass as the origin of the source of blood loss. An ultrasound is another tool that can be used to diagnose the organ that an abdominal mass originates from.

Treatment options

The mainstay of treatment is removal of the spleen and the tumour growing within it. This is a very, very important point. It is almost always the bleeding of the mass that is making the dog ill and likely to cause death, NOT the cancer itself. Removal of the spleen and the mass solves the bleeding issue and many dogs will live three to six months longer, even if the mass has spread, without any further treatment.

Removal of the mass/spleen is a simple/quick way of allowing the owners more time with a valued family member. Sometimes a blood transfusion may also be required before surgery, if the blood loss has been significant, prior to diagnosis.

Recovery and aftercare

In most cases, your pet will only spend one night in hospital, before being taken home for continued recovery care. Part of the high cost of referral level care is their insistence of extended stays until the pet is completely normal – often at a cost of $1,000 – $2,000 per day. Most owners prefer to have their pets at home and are perfectly capable of caring for them during the days after surgery. Your pet will go home with pain relief in the form of tablets, a slow release patch and antibiotics.

What is mammary gland cancer?

Mammary gland tumours can be seen as either single or multiple masses in the mammary gland tissue of dogs and cats. They can be benign or malignant, and are more common in female dogs and cats that are not desexed, or who were spayed after two years of age. The risk of a dog developing a mammary gland tumour is less than 1% if spayed before their first season. Approximately half of all these tumours in dogs are malignant (likely to have spread) whereas in cats this can be up to 90%.

Diagnosis methods

These are seen as very firm lumps within the mammary gland tissue in most cases. They feel like rocks or stones in the mammary glands. These lumps usually continue to grow and eventually can rupture through the skin, leading to infection as a secondary issue, on top of the cancer.

Treatment options

Surgery is the primary treatment pathway. If there is only a single or a couple of masses in a single gland, then removal of a single gland is all that may be required. If there are masses in many glands, then complete mastectomy (removal of all glands) may be preferred as the best solution. If the dog or cat is not desexed, then desexing is strongly advised and performed under the same anaesthetic. These are hormone induced tumours and removal of oestrogen (ovaries) reduces recurrence and the rate of growth in the cells that remain.

Recovery and aftercare

Your dog or cat will go home on the same day as surgery, on pain relief and antibiotics. Bandaging of the abdomen will occur where larger areas of surgery have been performed. The bandage is usually removed in two to five days, with suture removal two to three weeks later.

What is ear and nose cancer?

The most common cancer of the ears and nose of a cat is known as Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC). It only appears on white areas of the ears and nose, not on any pigmented areas. They are highly invasive locally, but usually slow to spread. If left untreated for long enough, they will spread to regional lymph nodes first.

Diagnosis methods

These are initially seen as small scabs. Many owners mistake these as sores from fights or the garden, etc. These non-healing sores/scabs are precancerous changes, and this is the earliest sign owners will see. As the changes progress, we then see more obvious ulceration of affected tissue, weeping and secondary bacterial infections. As the condition progresses severe tissue destruction occurs. These later stages can still be treated but there is a high risk that the cancer has already spread.

Treatment options

The early stages of SCC of the nose can be readily treated with cryotherapy using liquid nitrogen under general anaesthetic. Treated early with cryotherapy, there is little to no obvious changes. Advanced and invasive SCC of the nose has to be treated surgically and results in significant changes to the nose, but it can still be treated in most cases.

SCC of the ear is best treated by removal of the complete ear at the base. Removal of the affected portion only, often leads to recurrent disease in the remaining part of the ear. Removal of the ear at the base rarely leads to recurrence.

Recovery and aftercare

Your cat will usually go home the same day if cryotherapy is performed, but may stay in hospital on IV fluids for two to three days with extensive surgery to ensure they have started to eat and drink again. They will go home with antibiotics and pain relief and return to us around two weeks later to check progress of the healing and perform suture removal as required.

Avoiding SCC in white cats

Unfortunately, ear and nose cancer in white cats is usually unavoidable. Even if the cat is kept indoors, sitting near windows still leads to significant UV exposure. The most important point is to seek treatment early. This results in a permanent cure with very low risk of spread where the ears are concerned and little change where the nose is concerned.