Caninecancer.org.au

Hi, last week my 12 year old staff had a needle aspiration on a lump and it was confirmed that it was a mast cell tumour. It was under the fur but has now risen and is clearly visable. The vet has advised removal.
Bentley was very unwell five weeks ago, suffering from sickness and anorexia. He did not eat or drink for a week and was in the vets on a drip, we were close to letting him go.
My concern is if the tumour was the cause of his illness a few weeks ago and because of his age are we right to put him through a major operation. The lump is at the top of his leg in between the back and side, he also has severe arthritis is both legs and hips, which is managed with two tablets of tramadol a day.
Any advice would be very welcome.

Mast cell tumours are unfortunately a Staffy problem (along with Boxers, retrievers and several others). The aggressive tumours can definitely cause vomiting BUT:
1. if the tumour caused the vomiting, your dog should not have got better until the tumour was removed (unless perhaps stomach antacids were used to mask the symptoms). Assuming he did, it is more likely he just had a tummy upset. NOTE that vomiting due to mast cell tumours is NOT to due the tumour spreading internally. The cause is the release of histamine into the blood.
2. Even if the tumour caused the vomiting, if it can be completely removed and there is no evidence of tumour elsewhere, then you have your happy healthy dog back.
My advice would be either have the tumour removed and graded, then seek an oncologist's opinion on whether any further tests or treatment is necessary, or, if you would prefer to avoid the surgery if at all possible, then seek the oncologist's opinion first.

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

Thank you so much for your prompt response, you have given me the confidence to go ahead with the operation and hope that it is a low grade.
We re seeing the vet tomorrow and she is going to look at the results of ultrasounds that Bentley had when he was ill as they showed a slightly enlarged liver, which I have read can be an indication of the tumour spreading.(if I have read it correctly) Our vet is also going to do a needle aspiration on a lump on Bentley's foot to check for mast cells as it look very similar to the one on his leg, so we are praying that it isn't a mast cell.
Once again thank you so much, I will update when I have seen our vet tomorrow evening.

Good luck! Don't get too worried about the ultrasound. It's role is mostly to determine where to get a sample from, meaning the actual visual appearance of liver is NOT accurate for determining whether cancer is present. Size assessment is VERY inaccurate. Alot of other less serious things can affect the way the liver looks on ultrasound.

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

We've just got back from the vet and arranged for Bentley to go in Friday to have the lump removed. We saw our own vet tonight who also told us that the results of the needle sample showed what they believe to be moderate/high level? She said thet rarely do this without a biopsy so she feels it is more likely to be a high grade tumour.
She thinks the lump on his foot is an infection but will take a sample when he is under on Friday and has given us antibiotics for him Thank you once again for giving me the confidence to go ahead with the removal, I will keep you updated