Clinical outcome in 23 dogs with exocrine pancreatic carcinoma

Abstract

Exocrine pancreatic carcinoma is uncommon in the dog and the veterinary literature surrounding the disease is minimal. Twenty‐three cases of canine exocrine pancreatic carcinoma were reviewed in a retrospective manner to obtain information on clinical presentation, behaviour and survival associated with the disease. Presenting clinical signs were nonspecific and included anorexia, lethargy, vomiting and abdominal pain. The overall median survival time was only 1 day but was confounded by the large number of dogs that were euthanized shortly after diagnosis. Metastatic disease was detected in 78% of cases at the time of diagnosis, attesting to the aggressive nature of the disease. Neither lymph node metastasis, tumour size nor tumour location had an impact on overall survival. Only one patient was a previous diabetic who is contrary to reports of the disease in people and felines. This retrospective study reaffirms the need for early detection measures to optimize disease control. However, the benefits of therapy with surgery or radiation and adjuvant chemotherapy remain to be elucidated in dogs with exocrine pancreatic carcinoma.

Toceranib phosphate (Palladia) for the treatment of canine exocrine pancreatic adenocarcinoma

“…The findings of this small, retrospective analysis suggest that toceranib may have biologic activity for canine pancreatic carcinoma. Toceranib was well-tolerated and provided a clinical benefit rate of 75 % with a toceranib-specific median overall survival time of 89.5 days, certainly better than the previously published 8 days [ 3 ]. These results support the use and further investigation of toceranib for dogs with pancreatic carcinoma.…”

“…Canine pancreatic carcinoma is a rare, aggressive cancer that is highly metastatic at presentation and resistant to chemotherapy. Beyond surgical removal, effective treatment regimens for dogs have remained elusive [ 3 ]. In cats and humans, gemcitabine chemotherapy appears to have some efficacy [ 14 ], as do TKIs [ 8 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Clinical signs associated with pancreatic carcinomas are nonspecific and varied, most commonly including anorexia, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Frequent bloodwork abnormalities include elevations in alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, amylase and lipase, and an inflammatory leukogram [ 3 ]. Histologically, most canine pancreatic carcinomas are of acinar origin [ 2 ].…”

“…A recent retrospective study in dogs indicated that pancreatic carcinomas are aggressive, with up to 78 % of patients presenting with overt metastatic disease at diagnosis, most commonly to the liver or regional lymph nodes. Dogs also appear to have a short survival time after diagnosis (mean overall survival time reported: 8 days) [ 3 ]. Effective treatment options are limited for dogs diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma.…”

“…Effective treatment options are limited for dogs diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma. Options include surgical removal and chemotherapy, although efficacy of systemic chemotherapy has not been definitively proven [ 3 ].…”