Approach to Cancer in Companion Animals

Question 1

when does the risk of cancer peak in dogs and cats?

Answer 1

dogs: 7-12 years
cats: 8-14 years

Question 2

what are the types of cancer treatment?

Answer 2

chemotherapy
targeted therapies
immunotherapy
radiation therapy
surgery

Question 3

what is the critical first step in finding out an animal has cancer?

Answer 3

tumor diagnosis: oncologists require for referral

Question 4

what information can aspiration cytology give?

Answer 4

no grade
maybe broad tumor type
can be non-diagnostic

Question 5

what techniques can you use for aspiration with the needle off?

Answer 5

capillary core
fenestration technique

Question 6

how should you review slides for diagnostic quality before submitting?

Answer 6

can only evaluate intact cells
cytoplasm must be complete and surround entire cell

Question 7

what is cytology excellent for diagnosing?

Answer 7

round cell tumors

Question 8

how are round cell tumors classified?

Answer 8

behavior for cytology

Question 9

what does sarcoma mean?

Answer 9

mesenchymal tissue origin
favor hematogenous spread to lungs
spindle cell appearance

Question 10

what does carcinoma mean?

Answer 10

epithelial cell origin
tightly adherent cells
favor spread to lymph nodes

Question 11

what is useful about a tissue biopsy?

Answer 11

more likely to achieve a definitive diagnosis

Question 12

what is grading based on?

Answer 12

histomorphology

Question 13

what is mitotic count?

Answer 13

number of mitotic figures seen in 10 sequential fields
sometimes referred to as mitotic index

Question 14

what leads to margin shrinkage?

Answer 14

in vivo: skin contraction
ex vivo: formalin

Question 15

why is TNM (tumor, node, metastases) not really used in veterinary medicine?

Answer 15

animal cancers progress rapidly

Question 16

what should you have in your medical record about a tumor?

Answer 16

tumor location
tumor size
tumor characteristics

Question 17

what is CT scan used for?

Answer 17

complex structures such as head or neck
better resolution: find smaller metastases
critical for radiation planning

Question 18

what is abdominal ultrasound useful for?

Answer 18

monitoring gastrointestinal lesions

Question 19

what is MRI used primarily for?

Answer 19

CNS or spinal lesions

Question 20

in what is chemotherapy the sole treatment?

Answer 20

systemic cancers: lymphoma/leukemia, multiple myeloma

Question 21

what is metronomic chemotherapy?

Answer 21

continuous administration of chemotherapy at a low dose
IV or oral

Question 22

what are the side effects of palladia (toceranib phosphate)?

Answer 22

GI side effects
hypertension and protein losing nephropathy

Question 23

what are monoclonal antibodies given with?

Answer 23

chemotherapy always

Question 24

what is surgery useful for?

Answer 24

local treatment for management of local disease

Question 25

is radiation therapy a local or systemic treatment?

Answer 25

local treatment

Question 26

what is a partial response to treatment?

Answer 26

>30% reduction in tumor size

Question 27

what is the accepted standard of care for anal gland anal sac adenocarcinomas?

Answer 27

no accepted standard of care

Question 28

which breeds are predisposed to anal gland anal sac adenocarcinoma?

Answer 28

cavalier king charles spaniel english cocker spaniel german shepherd

Question 29

what is important about needle on aspirating?

Answer 29

active suction risk for blood solid tumors

Question 30

what is cytology excellent for?

Answer 30

diagnosing round cell tumors

Question 31

how specific can cytology be?

Answer 31

only broad classification for solid tumors: sarcoma or carcinoma

Question 32

what should you be careful of with tissue biopsy?

Answer 32

requires sedation or anesthesia need to biopsy deep avoid seeding submit all samples

Question 33

should you stage prior to performing an excisional biopsy?

Answer 33

yes

Question 34

what is a risk with tissue biopsy?

Answer 34

risk for underestimating grade

Question 35

what is tumor grading specific to?

Answer 35

the tumor type

Question 36

what can mitotic count be an indirect indicator of?

Answer 36

growth

Question 37

what tissue dyes should you not use for margin evaluation?

Answer 37

red orange

Question 38

can staging occur without knowledge of the tumor type?

Answer 38

yes

Question 39

presence of metastatic disease carries a ____________ prognosis for most tumor types

Answer 39

worse

Question 40

what is MRI used primarily for?

Answer 40

CNS or spinal lesions

Question 41

when is chemotherapy an adjuvant therapy?

Answer 41

in tumors known to have a high metastatic rate

Question 42

what is palladia (targeted therapy) used in?

Answer 42

mast cell tumors neuroendocrine tumors variety of metastatic carcinomas

Question 43

what is gilvetmab?

Answer 43

caninized monoclonal antibody that targets immune checkpoint allows tumor to hide from immune system