Splenic Cancer in Dogs
The spleen is the main source for storing blood in the body. Splenic cancer in dogs is a malignant soft tissue cancer that starts in the blood vessels of the spleen. It can cause serious problems for your dog, but if you recognize the symptoms early you can obtain the proper care for him.
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Description
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The spleen is located below the stomach, and it contains many blood vessels that make it a storehouse for blood. It filters dead cells out of the blood, and it helps the immune system. When malignant tumors form inside of the spleen, splenic cancer develops.
Symptoms
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You may notice symptoms, such as bleeding from the nose, weakness, pale coloring around the eyes and mouth, abdominal pain and swelling and loss of appetite. Also, your dog's urine may be dark brown due to the breakdown of red blood cells.
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Targets
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Some dog breeds are predisposed to splenic cancer due to genetics. Dalmatians, golden retrievers, German shepherds and greyhounds are prone to spleen tumors. Also, older dogs are most affected by splenic cancer.
Treatment
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Surgical removal of the spleen is the most common treatment choice. Your dog can survive without his spleen, but spleen removal can increase his risk of developing certain infections. Surgery can be combined with chemotherapy treatments. If surgery is not feasible, doxorubicin-based chemotherapy is used to shrink the size of a tumor. Radiation therapy is sometimes used, but in most cases it is not an option due to the anatomical location of spleen tumors.
Prognosis
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Spleen tumors are very aggressive and they spread rapidly. Accordingly, the prognosis for dogs with splenic cancer is poor, even with surgery and chemotherapy treatments. The average survival time for dogs that are treated with surgery is 19 days to 3 months. The number of dogs that survive a year after surgery is less than 10 percent. Dogs that receive doxorubicin-based chemotherapy treatment survive an average time of 141 to 179 days. If your dog's tumor is not ruptured, his prognosis is better.
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References
- Photo Credit Dog image by Lea Petrasova from Fotolia.com
