The Importance of Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Mammary Tumors in Bitches

Abstract

The high incidence of mammary tumors in small animals is concerning. Patient history, clinical examination, physical evaluation, and imaging studies are important for clinical staging. Ultrasonography is commonly applied to investigate the presence of abdominal metastasis. However, it has been shown to provide important information regarding mammary tumors’ architecture and advanced sonographic techniques can provide information regarding neovascularization, stiffness, and perfusion. Different techniques have been investigated to determine accuracy to predict the lesions’ histological classification. This paper reviews the information regarding each sonographic technique in the evaluation of mammary tumors, describing the most common findings and their potential to accurately assess and predict malignancy. Even though the gold standard for the diagnosis of mammary lesions is the histopathological examination, some ultrasonographic features described can predict the potential of a lesion being malignant. Among the different sonographic techniques, elastography can be considered the most reliable modality to accurately differentiate benign from malignant tumors when malignant lesions present increased stiffness. However, the combination of all sonographic techniques can provide important information that can lead to a better therapeutic approach and clinical staging. Furthermore, the potential of the sonographic study, especially CEUS to monitor therapeutic progression, demonstrate the need of further studies.

Canine multiple primary tumours: Mammary tubular carcinoma, uterine leiomyosarcoma, and facial sebaceous epithelioma

“…Canine mammary gland tumour (MGT) is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm, comprising the major proportion of reproductive tumours in female dogs ( Kuppusamy et al 2019 ). In addition, many retrospective studies have found that MGT has a high malignancy rate (approximately 50%) and a high metastatic potential (almost 50%)., mainly giving rise to mortality in dogs ( Im et al 2014 ; Feliciano et al 2023 ). Therefore, the early diagnosis and surgical resection are imperative, which allow the prevention of tumour progression and better prognosis.…”