oncology 1 Flashcards
most common cancers for dogs
- mammary
- skin
- connective tissues
- testes
- melanoma & lymphoma tie
most common cancers for cats
- non-hodgkin’s lymphoma
- leukemia
- skin
- mammary
- Connective tissue
how common is cancer as a cause of death for cats and dogs?
- 47% of dogs
- 32% of cats
causes of cancer
environment (up to 80‐90% of human cancers)
diet
chemicals (hormones)
radiation
oncogenic viruses
> feline leukemia virus
> human papilloma virus
- genetic factors
- trauma
why is there an increasing prevalence of cancer in companion animals?
Due to increased life expectancy of pets (increased risk with age)
a) better nutrition
b) vaccination for infectious disease
c) preventative medicine
d) leash laws
e) human‐animal bond
Treatment of Cancer requires knowledge of :
- Biology of the disease/natural history of the tumour
- How to diagnose & stage
- Modalities of treatment
- Costs
- Expectations/prognosis
- Client Education
what type of Knowledge of the Biology / Natural History of the Tumour should we know for treatment plans?
- Common sites
- Malignancy potential
- Where to look for metastatic disease
- Distant effects (paraneoplastic disorders)
- Precancerous conditions
- Suggests the clinical workup necessary
- Suggests treatment response & prognosis
types of cancer, categorically
*Carcinoma
*Sarcoma
*Round cells
> Lymphoma, leukemia, MCT, ….
clinical presentations / classifications of cancer based on location and spread (stage)
*Local / regional
- local and systemic
*Systemic
are soft tissue sarcomas local or systemic?
local
4 questions of oncology
- what is it?
- where is it?
- how bad is it?
- what to do about it?
the cornerstone of cancer diagnosis - what is it?
biopsy
types of biopsy, and what type they are
- fine needle aspirate (FNA): cytology
- incisional: histology
- excisional: histology
how to interpret biopsy results - what info do we need from pathologist?
- neoplastic versus not neoplastic
> e.g. inflammatory - malignant versus benign
The clinician has the right and the obligation to question the diagnosis if it is inconsistent with the clinical picture !!!
evaluation of malignant criteria all boils down to…
uniform or variable?
soft tissue sarcomas often present as what? diagnostic challenges?
- One of the challenges can be associated with getting a diagnosis!
- Often present as a subcutaneous mass that is slow growing
- Less aggressive tumours are harder to diagnose - Can appear as anything
> Soft and mobile
> Firm and fixed
where on the body do we commonly see STS? what can we mistake them for? best chance for cure?
- Very commonly seen on the limbs
- easy to mistake for a lipoma on aspirate
- Treat early (small) for best chance of cure
- Lipomas are RARE on limbs
how to diagnose STS - what is the use of FNA? do STSs exfoliate well? what can we learn?
- Fine needle aspirate & cytology
- Often exfoliate poorly
- malignant tumours exfoliate better (i.e. diagnosis on cytology can mean a worse tumour)
- Ddx: sarcoma vs scar tissue (spindle
cells)!
Is a FNA useful for diangosing MCT? lipoma? STS?
- good for MCT
- ok for lipoma
- generally poor for STS
use of FNA & cytology for learning about behaviour, stage, and grade?
- cytology can hint at behaviour but does not provide a grade!
- can help direct your preoperative staging
STS Diagnosis: Incisional biopsy
- what is the goal? what technique should we use? considerations for surgery?
- Goal: to achieve a diagnosis with minimal disruption of the mass
> Provides more information about tumour behaviour (grade!)
> Not necessary if diagnosis achieved from cytology - Want the smallest incision possible to get a diagnosis, stay within the boundaries of the mass
> Make sure to go through the pseudocapsule … sarcoma tissue looks a bit like toothpaste!
> Go deep to get through the pseudocapsule but DO NOT disrupt the fascial plane - Plan biopsy based on surgery … must remove biopsy tract later
- (Rarely used for mast cell tumour [MCT])
STS Diagnosis: Excisional Biopsy
- goal? what we learn? when would we use this technique? when is this not reccomended? what are the risks? technique?
- Goal: confirmation of diagnosis when potentially a benign disease process
> eg. granuloma - provides histopathology and grade
- Not recommended if STS highly suspected
- Major risk that you will disrupted local tissues making curative excision more difficult/ not possible
- Occasionally performed for very small cutaneous masses if suspect benign (<1cm) > do not disrupt the fascial plane
Types of STS
- Hemangiopericytoma** (NOT hemangiosarcoma)
- Fibrosarcoma
- Neurofibrosarcoma (peripheral nerve sheath tumour)
- Liposarcoma
- Rhabdomyosarcoma
- Undifferentiated (anaplastic) sarcoma
- others
basis of answering the question: where is it?
staging
clinical staging of tumours tells us what?
- defines the extent of the disease
- Aids in planning treatment
- Allows more accurate prognostication
- Assists in evaluation of therapy
- Allows communication between clinicians
- Nomenclature: ‘TNM’ System (WHO)
staging could require:
- biochemical profile
- urinalysis
- CBC
- thoracic radiographs (3 views)
- abdominal radiographs or ultrasound
- bone marrow aspirate / biopsy
- CT / MRI / PET‐CT / bone scan
- CSF tap
- etc. (FeLV / FIV status)