Sarcoma in cats: jaws, bones - symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis

What is sarcoma?

This is the name of not one, but a whole group of diseases, which are divided according to the type of tissue affected.
This is a malignant neoplasm, its “ancestor” are connective tissue cells. Even among “human” doctors, sarcoma “earns” a bad reputation. Why? It is characterized by extremely aggressive behavior and quickly “expands” the entire organism or the main part of its organs.

Typically, sarcoma of the lower jaw (as, indeed, its other types) consists of cells of the synovial membrane. The danger of these tumors is that they are not “attached” to any specific organ. That is, they can appear absolutely anywhere and anytime.
In addition, they do not have clear boundaries and are very difficult in terms of surgical intervention; in addition, they often give metastases

Important!
Another difficulty is that suspicion of sarcoma does not immediately arise. It can be taken until the very end, for example, as a post-vaccination complication.

What is feline mandibular sarcoma?

This disease includes the following symptoms:

Swelling of the lower jaw (maybe on one side).
Profuse salivation.
Rare but abundant blood clots.

Is there a top one?

Unfortunately, the top one also happens.

Bone sarcoma

This type of cancer is called osteosarcoma. This is the most common type of malignant tumor. Localized mainly in:

thigh;
long tubular bones;
tibia.

The following types of bone sarcoma also occur:

spine;
humerus;
pelvis;
ribs;
and other parts of the skeleton.

Attention!
The tumor can be either single or multiple. For example, multiple bone myeloma. Source – oncological formation of bone marrow.

Cause of bone sarcoma: malignant transformation of a malignant neoplasm.

This is the most common reason.

Soft tissue sarcoma

This is one of the most poorly understood tumors in dogs and cats. Malignant tumors. They are very diverse in their histological structure, response to treatment, and growth rate.

Reference!
The incidence of soft tissue sarcomas in cats is approximately 15% of all malignant tumors.

Preventive measures

There are no specific preventive measures. The only thing that can be recommended to owners is to limit exposure to carcinogenic substances.

Also, do not forget about strengthening your immune system. Vitamins and complex supplements are now being sold that will help your pet get all the necessary substances. Vaccination and inoculations will help protect your tailed friend from pathologies and reduce the likelihood of sarcoma formation.

Veterinarians have discovered that soft tissue sarcoma occurs when the process of fibroblast division is disrupted. On bones it occurs due to severe bruises and fractures of the animal’s limb.

Intravenous administration of oil-based vaccines and injections into a pet's body can provoke neoplasms. This happens because some cats are intolerant to certain preservatives.

Preventive measures to prevent neoplasms

Reasons for appearance

Regarding post-vaccination sarcoma, the causes of its appearance have not yet been clarified. As for the rest, there are chemical, physical and biological reasons.

In general, the following reasons can be identified:

irradiation;
infection with various viruses;
mechanical damage that repeats over and over again;
heredity;
infection with various kinds of parasites;
hormonal disbalance;
decreased immunity.

Diagnostics

The earliest diagnostic method is x-ray. It is he who can show exactly where the tumor is located, what size it is and whether there are metastases.

The main way to make the most accurate diagnosis is to examine a biopsy of the formation itself. How is it made? A small piece of tissue is isolated from the tumor, which is subjected to cytological and histological examination.

Only the owner will be able to notice the first symptoms and changes in the pet’s behavior. But diagnosis and treatment should be made by a qualified specialist. When you contact the clinic, a blood test is prescribed. The animal is also examined and the formations are palpated. Their nature can be determined after a biopsy. To do this, cells are taken from the tumor for research. You can determine the extent of organ damage by taking an x-ray of the cat.

Based on the results obtained, the doctor prescribes treatment. What therapy will be depends on the stage of the sarcoma.

Causes

Diagnosis of any formations on the body is very important before deciding what can be done about it next and how to behave correctly with the formation so as not to waste time.

This is especially important for fast-growing and malignant tumors. Therefore, if you notice a formation on your cat’s body, you should immediately contact the clinic to diagnose it. After examining the patient, the doctor will decide what manipulations need to be performed.

Manipulations necessary to diagnose formation:

First of all, you need to conduct an X-ray examination of the chest to exclude metastases;
Next, material is collected to diagnose the formation (the formation is punctured and the tumor is interpreted using cytological analysis);
after the result obtained, the doctor decides what method should be used to treat the patient (this can be surgical removal of the tumor, and then only control, or additional manipulations are carried out if the tumor is prone to metastasis);
after removal of the tumor, part of it is submitted for additional research to clarify the diagnosis;
After the result is ready, further manipulations and prospects are discussed.

We suggest you read: How much should a cat eat per day - simple rules

Causes

Symptoms

An animal suffering from this disease most often experiences the following symptoms.

The animal limps when walking and may then begin to limp.
Kisa is rapidly losing weight.
The appearance of a rapidly growing tumor.
The animal may completely refuse to eat.
The cat experiences severe pain, which deprives it of peace and sleep. In some cases, the cat even dies from painful shock.
Great lethargy, the animal sleeps almost all the time.

Classification

Sarcoma in cats is divided into two groups according to location, affecting either soft tissue or hard tissue.

This disease can also be classified according to other parameters. Depending on them, the following types are distinguished:

Post-injection – a tumor forms in the withers area.
Rhabdomyosarcoma - affects striated muscle tissue.
Liposarcoma is a cancer of the fat layer that often causes lumps to form on a cat's abdomen.
Fibrosarcoma is a lesion of fibrous tissue.
Osteosarcoma is a malignant process that occurs in the bones.

In veterinary practice, the latter type is found in 80% of cases, so it is considered the most common. As metastases grow, any organs and lymph nodes can be affected.

Treatment

For sarcoma, the following treatment is recommended:

What therapy is most often used? The main method is excision of the tumor with the capture of nearby tissues surgically. But this method can bring a positive result only in the absence of metastases. If we are talking about a “vaccine” tumor, then healthy tissue is removed (within no less than 5 centimeters, since this type of tumor extremely quickly spreads to neighboring organs and tissues).
Sarcoma has a high potential for metastasis, so surgery alone is not enough. Chemotherapy and radiation are mandatory. To stop growth.
tumor cells, your doctor may prescribe these procedures several weeks before surgery.

To alleviate the animal's condition, strong painkillers are prescribed at home.

Clinical manifestations

A 6-year-old mixed-breed cat, Tisha, was admitted to the clinic with complaints of jaw formation. Until this time, Tisha was observed at a third-party clinic. Upon examination, a large fixed formation of the left branch of the lower jaw was noted. After the examination, no signs of distant metastasis were identified.

The decision to operate was made. A combined resection of the jaw was performed - a complete horizontal mandibulectomy and a rostral mandibulectomy (removal of the left branch of the mandible involving the right side, caudal to the right canine). This type of resection allowed us to capture healthy tissue.

After the operation, Tisha recovered quickly to normal - after 5 days he was able to independently eat softened food and did not experience discomfort.

According to histological analysis, the answer was received - well-differentiated fibrosarcoma. This type of tumor is malignant, but when resected within healthy tissue it has a better prognosis. We hope for a long life expectancy.

Surgeon-oncologist: Ph.D. Kablukov A.D. Assistant: Tonkonogov D.D. Cardiologist: Oleynikov D.A.

Histiocytoma in dogs Histiocytoma of the skin of dogs is a benign vascular-connective tissue tumor of the skin. Formed by Langerhans cells, which are normally residents of the skin and mucous membranes.

Mastocytoma in dogs Mastocytoma in dogs is a malignant tumor of mast cells (mast cells) that primarily affects the skin in dogs.

A clinical case of treatment of mastocytoma in a Staffordshire terrier. The patient was a Staffordshire terrier dog, male, uncastrated, found on the street two weeks before going to the clinic with a neoplasm of the skin of the chest wall. At an appointment with an oncologist, a large (8 by 6 cm) dense mobile hyperemic skin formation was noted in the area of the 12th rib at the level of the midline of the chest.

Lymphoma in cats Lymphoma (lymphosarcoma) in cats is a malignant tumor disease of the lymphatic system, consisting of lymph nodes united by a system of small vessels. In lymphomas, malignant lymphoid cells invade various parts of the lymphoid tissues throughout the body.

Prevention and prognosis

There are no preventive measures as such to prevent the development of malignant diseases. To prevent post-vaccination sarcoma, subcutaneous administration of drugs should be avoided, giving preference to either intramuscular injection into the thigh or oral drugs.

Very often, owners contact the clinic too late, when treatment is no longer possible. Your pet can literally “burn out” before your eyes within a few weeks.

You should not euthanize your pet without treatment, because timely surgical intervention can prolong your pet’s life for years

Complications

Complications are most often associated with surgery. In the early stages after surgery, bacterial or fungal infection and bone implant rejection may occur.

If an operation to amputate a limb has been performed, then the most likely complication is arthritis or arthrosis due to a disturbance in the distribution of pressure on the joints when moving on three legs.

As with all malignant tumors, the most common complication is recurrence of osteosarcoma and detection of distant metastases.

Neoplasms in dogs: main types of tumors

When surgically removing soft tissue sarcomas, antiblastic techniques can be used. In our practice, we tried intraoperative irradiation of the surgical wound and the intraoperative use of photodynamic therapy. The use of ionizing radiation intraoperatively is associated with great technical difficulties, since the source of ionizing radiation is located outside our clinic. We also encountered a lengthening of the postoperative period and complications during the healing of the surgical suture.

My Gregor once became very ill, and I had to go to the veterinary clinic. I found this one on the Internet, it was relatively close to me. They came for an examination, immediately took tests and prescribed medications for treatment. Everything is fine, we are cured. The doctors know their stuff.

. If there are metastases, there is no point in surgery, the tumor is aggressive. And all actions will not be for the good.

Radiation therapy is effective in relieving pain in dogs in approximately two out of three cases. Improvement occurs approximately three weeks after starting to use this method, the effect lasts about four months. If the paw becomes painful again, the course can be repeated.

The dog has osteosarcoma Rostov-on-Don

Osteosarcoma of the jaw in cats Rostov-on-Don - we will cure your pet

Unfortunately, the prognosis for osteosarcoma and other bone tumors is most often unfavorable. If the affected limb is severely painful or a metastatic process develops, patients are subject to euthanasia.

. There are simply doctors who try to make money on everything, and sometimes give false hopes.

Chondrosarcoma is a tumor of bone cartilage, and on the contrary, it most often affects flat bones, such as ribs or skull bones, but this type of tumor can also develop on the extremities. Both types of tumor lead to increased bone fragility and fractures, called pathological fractures, may occur. Such fractures in dogs are one of the signs of bone cancer and do not require conventional treatment; the approach to their treatment is completely different.