Caninecancer.org.au

I posted an intro down in general with all my basic info, but the crux of the issue is that my 6 year old desexed crossbreed bitch has had two suspicious lumps pop up this year. The first was on her flank and FNB was inconclusive. Vet took more samples and sent to pathology - histiocytoma that cleared up on its own. Great!

Now maybe 3 months later she had another bump pop up on her lower back - FNB showed both histiocytes and mast cells and vet wanted to remove it, so did with wide margins. We are waiting for the pathology results to come back. My assumption is that it is a MCT this time.

My main questions are - are the two types of tumour related? I understand they are both related to the immune system, so is an allergic dog more likely to end up with these tumours? And since she has had one MCT is it likely she will get more even if this one has been removed cleanly with no spread?

There is no known connection between histiocytomas and mast cell tumours. I'm assuming your dog is young - many young dogs that get mast cell tumours do get more over time. Overall about 1 in every 3-5 dogs with mast cell tumours grow more than 1 in their life time. Most of the time with multiple mast cell tumours (in or under the skin) each one is unrelated. So perfect treatment for 1 is good, but does not prevent the next. Therefore, the first one can be low grade and surgically curable; the next can be high grade and spread rapidly through the body. The grade is usually reported using 2 systems - both are useful for determining the risk of recurrence and spread. If the diagnosis of mast cell tumour is confirmed and you request referral, your oncologist will be able to advise on these risks based on a biopsy.

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Dr Ken Wyatt BSc BVMS FANZCVS
Specialist Veterinary Oncologist
Perth Veterinary Oncology

Thanks Dr Ken - it's really interesting to see how different dogs are effected.

Willow's pathology came back and her lump was a benign granuloma rather than a MCT, so we are very relieved. I thought the worst when the vet found mast cells in the biopsy samples, but apparently there were quite a variety of cell types present. The mass was removed completely with clear margins.

For future reference - is there a veterinary oncologist in Tasmania? I note that there isn't one on the website list.

You must be rapt with the pathology results! A good Tasmanian sparkling will be opened I hope!
As for Tasmanian oncologists, the news is not so good. With only 10 of us in the country, we haven't ventured from the mainland yet. A couple of us do work remotely though, meaning your local vet sends us the information and we interpret and advise, so you are not without access at least.

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Dr Ken Wyatt BSc BVMS FANZCVS
Specialist Veterinary Oncologist
Perth Veterinary Oncology

Absolutely stoked!! It's such a relief.

It's great that you do some work remotely, it is important to be able to access good information. I know for myself, and will pass onto others, that this service is available. Thankfully I don't need to use it this time. We are used to doing things differently down here, and we do have some great vets available to us.

I'm heading out on the town tonight, so I have an extra champers just for you. Thanks again for answering my questions.