Currently, prognostic and therapeutic determinations for canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs) are primarily based on histologic grade. However, the use of different grading systems by veterinary pathologists and institutional modifications make the prognostic value of histologic grading highly questionable. To evaluate the consistency of microscopic grading among veterinary pathologists and the prognostic significance of the Patnaik grading system, 95 cutaneous MCTs from 95 dogs were

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To determine whether canine malignancies share common genetic lesions with their human counterparts, and are thus potentially interesting model systems in which to pose questions regarding tumor etiology and progression, we have elucidated the entire exon/intron structure of the canine p53 gene. A search for p53 gene abnormalities in mammary tumor tissue was undertaken utilizing single strand conformation polymorphism analysis. Mutations were detected in exons 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the p53 gene and consisted of nonsense, splicing, and frameshift mutations. None of 11 benign tumors and 6 of 40 primary carcinomas (15%) were found to harbor subtle p53 mutations. In 14 carcinomas examined the results in primary tumors and metastases were the same. These findings implicate involvement of this gene in the genesis of some malignant canine tumors, in a fashion similar to their human counterparts.