Retrospective study of more than 9000 feline cutaneous tumours in the UK: 2006–2013

Abstract

Objectives The aim of the study was to utilise a large database available from a UK-based, commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratory to ascertain the prevalence of different forms of cutaneous neoplasia within the feline population, and to detect any breed, sex or age predilections for the more common tumours. Methods Records from the laboratory were searched for feline submissions received between 31 May 2006 and 31 October 2013. For masses arising within the skin for which histopathology had been performed, the diagnosis was recorded together with the breed, age, sex and neuter status of the cat. Odds ratios for breed predisposition to skin tumours overall, to histologically malignant tumours and to the more commonly occurring tumours were calculated, with the non-pedigree cat population as the control. Results Of the 219,083 feline samples submitted, masses arising within the skin comprised 4.4% and there were 89 different diagnoses recorded for these masses. Just 6.6% of these cases were non-neoplastic in nature, and, of neoplastic masses, 52.7% were considered histologically malignant. The 10 most common skin tumour types accounted for 80.7% of cases, with the four most common being basal cell tumours, fibrosarcomas, squamous cell carcinomas and mast cell tumours. Conclusions and relevance Despite the large number of different diagnoses in this study, a relatively small number of tumour types accounts for the majority of skin masses occurring in cats, most of which are neoplastic in nature. There are a number of breed predispositions for the more common tumour types, although no pedigree breed had increased odds of developing a malignant tumour compared with the non-pedigree cat population; several breeds had significantly decreased odds. Just over half of the neoplastic masses in this study were considered histologically malignant.

Tumours in European Shorthair cats: a retrospective study of 680 cases

“…1,5,11,12 SCC was the main tumour histotype diagnosed in this study, while it was only the second most common in an earlier UK-based study, and the third most common in American, Swiss and South African studies, as well as in the most recent UK-based study, the last reporting only skin-related tumours. 1,2,4,5,13 Moreover, in our study this tumour type was also the most common feline cancer observed in the oral cavity (46%), usually affecting older cats, and with 54.5% of cases originating from gingival mucosa. According to the recent literature, 10% of all tumours diagnosed in cats are oral tumours and SCC is the most common; gingiva, the sublingual area and tongue were reported as the most commonly affected sites.…”

“…Cancer is a frequent disease in domestic cats and yet few major studies are published regarding the occurrence of tumours in the feline population in different countries, including both the USA and Europe. [1][2][3][4][5] These studies vary with respect to data source, sample numbers, size of the assessed geographical region and availability of population data (epidemiologic denominator). Cat breeds are dispersed around the world; thus, feline medicine clinicians should be aware of the breeds more commonly encountered in their regions.…”

Small animal disease surveillance 2019: pruritus, pharmacosurveillance, skin tumours and flea infestations

“…. In our report feline lipoma reports were almost double that of an earlier study, 7 warranting further investigation. Table 2 shows the proportions of common dog breeds attending veterinary practices, as recorded by SAVSNET between 2018 and 2019, with the percentage of such breeds afected by the ive most commonly reported skin tumours identiied in this newly formed tumour registry.…”

A retrospective study of more than 400 feline nasal biopsy samples in the UK (2006–2013)

“…The total number of feline submissions to the laboratory from 31 May 2006 to 31 October 2013 was 219,083, including blood samples, cytology and histopathology submissions. 12 Of these, samples arising from the nasal cavity comprised 0.18% (n = 405).…”