Survival Times for Canine Intranasal Sarcomas Treated With Radiation Therapy: 86 Cases (1996–2011)

Abstract

Sarcomas comprise approximately one-third of canine intranasal tumors, however few veterinary studies have described survival times of dogs with histologic subtypes of sarcomas separately from other intranasal tumors. One objective of this study was to describe median survival times for dogs treated with radiation therapy for intranasal sarcomas. A second objective was to compare survival times for dogs treated with three radiation therapy protocols: daily-fractionated radiation therapy; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday fractionated radiation therapy; and palliative radiation therapy. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for dogs that had been treated with radiation therapy for confirmed intranasal sarcoma. A total of 86 dogs met inclusion criteria. Overall median survival time for included dogs was 444 days. Median survival time for dogs with chondrosarcoma (n = 42) was 463 days, fibrosarcoma (n = 12) 379 days, osteosarcoma (n = 6) 624 days, and undifferentiated sarcoma (n = 22) 344 days. Dogs treated with daily-fractionated radiation therapy protocols; Monday, Wednesday and Friday fractionated radiation therapy protocols; and palliative radiation therapy protocols had median survival times of 641, 347, and 305 days, respectively. A significant difference in survival time was found for dogs receiving curative intent radiation therapy vs. palliative radiation therapy (P = 0.032). A significant difference in survival time was also found for dogs receiving daily-fractionated radiation therapy vs. Monday, Wednesday and Friday fractionated radiation therapy (P = 0.0134). Findings from this study support the use of curative intent radiation therapy for dogs with intranasal sarcoma. Future prospective, randomized trials are needed for confirmation of treatment benefits.

Patterns of lymph node metastasis identified following bilateral mandibular and medial retropharyngeal lymphadenectomy in 31 dogs with malignancies of the head

“…Previous studies have typically focused on ipsilateral lymph centres, with bilateral lymph node assessment only performed in dogs without lateralised disease; this may not be sufficient in all cases. Cytological and surgical assessments of regional lymph nodes may often only involve the ipsilateral mandibular lymph node, and are frequently not performed at all . Although the mandibular lymph centre drains a large area of the head and is easily accessible for aspiration, it is possible that evaluation of only the ipsilateral mandibular lymph node may not provide a complete assessment of the lymph nodes affected.…”

Computed tomography imaging characteristics of canine nasal chondrosarcoma

“…) and chondrosarcoma comprised 49% of nasal sarcomas in a population of 86 dogs with sinonasal neoplasms treated with radiotherapy (Sones et al . ). In human medicine, chondrosarcoma is also the second most common primary bone tumour (Burningham et al .…”

“…It is the second most common primary bone tumour in dogs (Brodey et al 1974) and approximately 30% of these occur in the nasal cavity (Popovitch et al 1994). In a population of 285 canine sinonasal neoplasms, 12% (34/285) were chondrosarcoma (Patnaik et al 1984) and chondrosarcoma comprised 49% of nasal sarcomas in a population of 86 dogs with sinonasal neoplasms treated with radiotherapy (Sones et al 2013). In human medicine, chondrosarcoma is also the second most common primary bone tumour (Burningham et al 2012) and approximately 4% arise from the facial bones (Inwards 2007).…”

A prospective pilot study on early toxicity from a simultaneously integrated boost technique for canine sinonasal tumours using image‐guided intensity‐modulated radiation therapy

“…Median survival times with definitive‐intent protocols applied in 10 to 18 fractions and total doses of 42 to 54 Gy are typically not exceeding 10.8 to 19.7 months . The majority of patients, for example, 65% to 75%, have to expect local failure and the progression‐free interval in regularly fractionated protocols is short, with only 29% of dogs free of progression at 1 year . In order to overcome the issue of poor local control, local treatment had been modified using post‐radiotherapy surgical exenteration, 1 to 3 fraction stereotactic protocols or increased “boosts” of RT.…”