Incidence of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors of dogs from Baghdad city: Clinical, cytological and histopathological features

The present study was conducted to estimate the incidence, clinical findings, cytological and histopathological characteristics of spontaneously occurring skin neoplasms in dogs. A total of 40 grossly suspected cases of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors were gathered during the period from July 2016 to August 2018 from male and female dogs in Baghdad city. Dogs with skin neoplasia revealed various clinical signs, and their ages were older than 5 years to 15 years. German shepherd 30% followed by Terrier dogs 25% were more influenced than other breeds. Concerning tumor features, the majority of neoplasms had solitary lesion 70%, regular shapes 65% with black color 55%. The tumors frequently occurred on fore-limbs and abdomen, and 80% of them lasted for 1-6 months. Cytological examination was valuable for initial evaluation of benign and malignant tumors. Its results were confirmed by the histopathology, in which the majority of neoplasms sized more than 5 cm and grade I. Nine different types of skin neoplasms were recognized, while 65% of them were malignant, the others were benign. Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinomas were the most common comprising 35% and 25%, respectively.