Clinical presentation, treatment and outcome of canine malignant mesothelioma: A retrospective study of 34 cases

Abstract

Canine malignant mesothelioma (CMM) is a rare and aggressive tumour associated with a poor prognosis. Limited information is available regarding effective treatment options and prognostic factors. The purpose of this retrospective case series was to describe the clinical presentation, treatment and survival in a cohort of dogs with this disease and to investigate possible prognostic factors. Thirty‐four dogs were included. Tachypnoea and dyspnoea due to pleural effusion were the most common presenting clinical signs. Twenty‐two dogs had a subcutaneous access port placed and 25 dogs were treated with intracavitary and/or intravenous chemotherapy. The main protocols used were single‐agent 5‐FU (n = 14) and carboplatin single‐agent or alternated with mitoxantrone (n = 10). The overall response rate (defined as more than 25% reduction in effusion volume) to chemotherapy treatment was 37% after 3‐weeks and 24% after 15‐weeks. The median survival time (MST) for all dogs was 195 days (95% CI 53–324). MST was 234 days for dogs receiving chemotherapy and 29 days for dogs not receiving chemotherapy. The 1‐year survival rate was 22% for all dogs. Treatment with chemotherapy was the only significant prognostic factor associated with survival (p = .001). Further studies are needed to determine the optimal treatment approach for malignant mesothelioma in dogs. Nevertheless, effusion recurrence should be expected and the prognosis for these patients in the long‐term is poor.

Outcome of dogs treated with chemotherapy for mesothelioma: A retrospective clinical study on 40 cases and a literature review

“…MST was 366 days for dogs receiving chemotherapy compared to 74 days for those who did not. Moberg found similar results in a cohort of 34 dogs, with a MST from diagnosis to death of 234 days for 25 dogs treated with chemotherapy and 29 days for others 16 . Twenty‐four other cases of dogs receiving chemotherapy for the treatment of mesothelioma were identified in literature 1,17,18,30,32,33,36,39–41,46,47,49,53,56,61,69,70,73 .…”

“…In our study, dogs treated with surgery tended to live longer even though it was not significant. In Moberg's series, 20 dogs underwent perciardectomy and 22 dogs had a subcutaneous pleural and/or peritoneal port placed but outcome associated with those procedures was not displayed 16 . In literature, surgery was performed in 71/105 (67.6%) dogs.…”

“…For instance, pericardiectomy is commonly performed for management of pericardial mesothelioma, and pleural port device are increasingly used for the management of pleural mesothelioma. Though, outcome associated with these surgical procedures is poorly documented 13–16 . Regarding systemic treatments, for years the rationale for use of chemotherapy was based on a tendancy of better survival of treated dogs in very small cohorts of dogs or isolated reports compared to historical data 1,17,18 .…”

“…Regarding systemic treatments, for years the rationale for use of chemotherapy was based on a tendancy of better survival of treated dogs in very small cohorts of dogs or isolated reports compared to historical data 1,17,18 . Recently, a larger cohort of 34 dogs, including a control group, was published by Moberg et al and also reported a better outcome in dogs with mesothelioma treated with chemotherapy 16 . In this study, most dogs had pleural mesothelioma and the most used chemotherapeutic agent was 5‐fluorouracil, administered intracavitarily.…”

Thoracic and Abdominal Mesothelioma in an Older Horse in Lazio Region

“…The mesothelioma can affect different species, including dogs [ 8 ], cats [ 9 ], cattle [ 10 ], sheep [ 11 ], goats [ 12 ], and horses [ 2 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The onset in horses is very rare.…”