Mast Cell Tumors : Lessons Learned

[tiva]

So sorry to hear that! I hope the oncologist had some hopeful options for you. For what it's worth (every dog is different), Tiva had her second MCT come back grade 2, dirty margins. She was 15, so we opted not to do radiation or chemo. Now she's 18, still chugging along. Her mitotic index was extremely low, and that's what the vet said mattered nearly as much as grade or margins.

[picara]

Thanks, Tiva. Horace's mitotic index was extremely low, too, 0-1 per 10 power fields. The oncologist recommended further pathology to see if the tumor cells exhibited a genetic mutation that would cause the cancer to behave aggressively despite the 'good' indicators, so we did c-kit testing. No evidence of mutant cancer cells! Yay! Horace is only 6 1/2, so we're taking his ear off to try for a complete excision of the cancer. So then he'll be like new, but with one half a pitbull head and one half a seal head.

[picara]

Horace's second surgery went perfectly and his biopsy came i clean as a whistle. The oncological surgeon changed her game plan once she saw what was going on inside Horace, so instead of going up and taking his ear off, she went down and took just a bite from his ear, instead cut a lot of skin away from his face and jaw, but stitched him up beautifully. I looked at her bio. In her headshot she's cradling her own pitbull, she's a founding fellow of Surgical Oncology in the American College of Veterinary Surgery, AND has a special clinical interest in head and neck rumors! And 10 minutes up the road. Of all veterinarians in the world there couldn't have been a more perfect match for Horace who is now cancer free!

What I would have done differently: had the regular vet do a cytology and go straight to an oncological surgeon from there because his tumor was in a tough spot and the regular vet knew she couldn't' get a clean margin.