Caninecancer.org.au

Hello,
I wonder if anyone can give me some more information.
I am in the UK and have an 8yr old GSD Rolf. Last year he started a very slight intermittent limp on his right hind leg. Occasionally it would give way when circling and he seemed uncomfortable standing still for any length of time. I found a soft tissue mass in the muscle inside his thigh, behind/above the knee joint. Biopsy showed an infiltrating lipoma. I am aware that this is not malignant or 'cancerous' but was advised that the mass will grow at the expense of the muscle. The treatment options were amputation, radiotherapy or watch and wait. After lots of deliberation I opted to watch and wait.
The lump has grown significantly but Rolf's symptoms are unchanged at this point.
I have been unable to find any info on the prognosis and would be most grateful if anyone could share their experiences with this diagnosis.

Thanks

Denise

Hi Denise,
infiltrative lipoma does not spread elsewhere in the body but will invade through tissues. It may be difficult to remove surgically hence the advice for amputation; left to grow it will lead to pain and loss of limb function commonly over a number of months. You will need to choose between euthanasia and amputation at some point. It's growth is similar in some ways to soft tissue sarcomas, such as fibrosarcoma, for which there is much more information out there.

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

Thanks for your quick response Dr Ken.
It sounds unequivicable.
When it spreads through the tissues does it tend to do so in a predictable manner? I suppose what I'm asking is are we likely to get to a point where clinical signs indicate that it's time for amputation or will it have spread too far by that point?