Frontal sinus carcinoma in forty‐one dogs (2001–2022)

Abstract

Reports on canine frontal sinus carcinomas (FSCs) are scarce. This retrospective review of 41 dogs with FSC (2001–2022) describes demographic and clinical characteristics of canine FSC and reports the clinical experience and overall survival following treatment with toceranib phosphate (TOC) and meloxicam in 10 cases. Median age at diagnosis was 10.6 years (range: 6.5–15.4 years). There was a male‐to‐female‐ratio of 2.4:1. The most common breeds were Jack Russell Terriers (JRT) (n = 7; 17.1%) and Rottweilers (n = 3, 7.3%). Mesocephalic breeds (70.6%) were most commonly affected, brachycephalics accounted for 8.8%. The most frequent clinical signs included skull deformation dorsomedial to the eye (87.5%), pain/head‐shyness (40.0%), ocular (22.5%)/nasal (17.5%) discharge, and exophthalmos (17.5%). Duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis varied from a few days to 9 months. There were no neurological signs at initial presentation despite imaging evidence of osteolysis of the lamina interna of the frontal bone in most dogs (69.4%). In 11.5%, pulmonary changes suggestive of metastasis or concurrent primary pulmonary neoplasia were present. Tumour types included squamous cell carcinoma (58.5%), unspecified carcinoma (29.3%), and adenocarcinoma (9.8%). Ten dogs were treated with TOC (median 2.8 mg/kg EOD or three times per week) and meloxicam (0.1 mg/kg, EOD) (TOC‐M), resulting in subjective regression of skull deformity in 8/10 (80.0%) patients. Overall median survival time with TOC‐M was 183.5 days (range: 120–434 days). FSCs typically present with skull deformation, but no overt neurological signs. Male dogs and JRT may be overrepresented. The use of TOC‐M in FSC appears promising and warrants further prospective evaluation.