No abstract

Medical records of 42 cats treated with mandibulectomy for oral neoplasia at eight institutions were reviewed to determine morbidity, progression-free interval, and survival time. Progression-free and survival rates at 1 and 2 years were 56% and 49%, and 60% and 57%, respectively. Cats with squamous cell carcinoma had significantly shorter survival than cats with fibrosarcoma or osteosarcoma. Seventy-two percent of cats were dysphagic or inappetent immediately postoperatively, and 12% never regained the ability to eat. Despite acute morbidity in 98% and long-term morbidity in 76% of cats, 83% of the 30 owners providing information were satisfied with the outcome of mandibulectomy.

Melanoma is the most common oral malignancy in dogs. This retrospective study evaluated adjuvant carboplatin chemotherapy (with or without radiation therapy) in 17 dogs with malignant oral melanoma following surgical resection. The median dosage and number of doses of carboplatin administered to the 17 dogs was 300 mg m(-2) (range, 150-300 mg m(-2)) and 4 (range, 2-11), respectively. The overall median progression-free survival for all dogs was 259 days [95% confidence interval (CI95), 119-399 days]. The first progression-free survival event was local recurrence in seven dogs (41%) and metastases in seven dogs (41%). The median overall survival for all dogs was 440 days (CI95, 247-633 days). The tumour was the cause of death in 10 dogs (59%). On the basis of this study, systemic therapy with carboplatin may be an appropriate adjunct to local treatment for canine malignant melanoma, although future prospective controlled studies are needed to compare treatment modalities for this aggressive neoplasia.

Abstract. In 1994-1995, a child and five dogs from villages located between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, Israel were diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Based on these findings, the distribution of VL in domestic and wild canids in central Israel was examined. In the two villages where canine index cases were identified, a substantial proportion (11.5%, 14 of 122) of the dogs examined were seropositive. However, the rate of infection in five neighboring villages was only 1% (1 of 99). Parasites were cultured from 92% (12 of 13) of the seropositive dogs biopsied and the strains were characterized as Leishmania infantum by a clamped polymorphic-polymerase chain reaction, monoclonal antibodies, and/or excreted factor serology. The discovery of VL close to major urban centers is an important public health issue. The disease appears to have emerged recently in this area, and it is unclear whether the parasite was re-introduced or was continuously present at low levels in this region. The presence of seropositive wild canids, jackals (7.6%, 4 of 53) and red foxes (