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What Are The Four Main Types of Dog Bone Cancer? Part 3: Fibrosarcoma

Andrew Lewis — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:13:14 +0000

The type of bone cancer called Fibrosarcoma is rare. It is responsible for less than 5% of the primary types of bone tumors. It comes from the fibrous connective tissues (hence the name) that are found in the ribs, spine, pelvis, and skull. It can however come from any bone type. It is a non-osteosarcoma bone type, but it is still very difficult to set it apart from the very common osteosarcoma or OSA, specifically what they call fibroblastic osteosarcoma. There are two varieties of this tumor type: Central, and Parosteal. Main treatments for Fibrosarcoma involve amputation, limb salvage and surgical resectioning. Radiation therapy can be applied as alternative pain relief in some special instances. There is chemotherapy to threat the rare instance that cancer spreads, and pain medication.

Why fibrosarcoma develops is still unknown because it is a rare tumor type. It is found more commonly in older male canines, but there is a variety that develops in the mouths of younger dogs.

These can be signs that a dog has fibrosarcoma:

lameness or pain in the legs or limbs

dog has a hard time swallowing or eating

strange and unexplained swelling in any bones

bleeding in or from the mouth, and a foul odor from the mouth

Bleeding from the mouth, and/or a bad mouth odor

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What Are the Treatment Options for Dog Bone Cancer?

Andrew Lewis — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:31:21 +0000

Once Bone Cancer has developed, it is almost impossible to prevent its spreading throughout the body . It spreads aggressively throughout the body in such a way that without relative treatment, affected dogs may completely succumb to the disease in 1 to 2 months’ time. Once Bone Cancer has spread and become inoperable or untreatable, euthanasia is the only humane option allowable in order to save the dog from intense pain that will no longer regress.

90% of Bone Cancer tumors metastasize to the lungs. Because of this, aggressive treatment is implemented.

Once Bone Cancer has developed, it is almost impossible to prevent its spreading throughout the body .

Treatment includes amputation of the affected part followed by a series of chemotherapy, but that should provide only temporary relief. Amputation alone provides an average survival time of 5 months while amputation with chemotherapy provides a survival time of at least one year. Chemotherapy drugs that are proven effective for Bone Cancer chemotherapy are Carboplatin, Cisplatin and Doxorubicin.

Radiation therapy is another option when the aim is to provide pain relief from secondary bone tumors caused by metastasis. This treatment results to 2 to 3 months of pain-free survival time. Commonly, radiation therapy is used before and after a surgery, or during times when the tumor is inoperable or has not been completely excised during surgery.

These are some of the ways dog bone cancer is treated.

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An Introduction to Dog Bone Cancer: What Exactly Is It?

Andrew Lewis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:17:15 +0000

It doesn’t take a veterinarian or animal expert to know that cancer, any type of cancer, hinders your dog’s optimum performance. It could be dog sports competitions, professional dog shows, or just plain having fun with you and your family. A healthy dog walks, runs, chases, cuddles, and frolics without any discomfort or pain, and that is possible only because he or she is happy and free from sickness or debilitating disease. A dog with Bone Cancer, however, could appear lame or crippled as a result of this painful, unforgiving illness.

What is Dog Bone Cancer?

What is Dog Bone Cancer? Bone Cancer is also known by the term Osteosarcoma. These are tumors that commonly affect the limbs of giant dog breeds.

Bone Cancer is also known by the term Osteosarcoma. These are tumors that commonly affect the limbs of giant dog breeds. To a lesser percentage, it affects the skull, ribs, vertebrae and pelvis of smaller breeds. Bone Cancer tumors are deemed highly aggressive. They invade and destroy normal cells aggressively, and in some cases, they metastasize, meaning they travel to other organs in the body through the bloodstream, over far distances.

While bone cancer constitutes only 5% of all canine tumor incidences, a staggering 80-90% of malignant cancer cases include the bone. What’s more alarming is, this sort of cancer requires the amputation of the affected area, together with chemotherapy (which only gives temporary relief to the suffering pet).

Continue reading the next article to find out more:

What Causes Dog Bone Cancer?

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