Skin cancer in cats and dogs

Many types of skin tumors, both benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous), exist. Approximately 20-40% of primary skin tumors are malignant in dogs and 50-65% are malignant in cats.

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Signs and symptoms

Skin tumors are usually discovered by the pet owners as abnormal growths on the skin while examining or grooming the pets. Most benign tumors are slow growing and painless, with well defined boundaries and freely movable. In contrast, malignant tumors tend to be rapidly growing and often ulcerated with ill-defined boundaries.

Diagnosis

Typically, either cytologic or histopathologic analysis of the suspected mass is done prior to initiating treatment. The commonly used diagnostic procedures for skin tumors are fine-needle aspiration cytology and tissue biopsy. ^[1]

Treatment

The specific treatment will depend on the tumor's type, location, size, and whether the cancer has spread to other organs. Surgical removal of the tumor remains the standard treatment of choice but additional forms of therapy exist such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.

References

External link

• Skin Cancer in Cats and Dogs from Pet Cancer Center
• Skin Cancer in Dogs from CanineCancer.com'