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The Impact of Pamidronate and Chemotherapy on Survival Times in Dogs with Appendicular Primary Bone Tumors Treated with Palliative Radiation Therapy
Author(s) -
Oblak Michelle L.,
Boston Sarah E.,
Higginson Geraldine,
Patten Steven G.,
Monteith Gabrielle J.,
Woods J. Paul
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
veterinary surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1532-950X
pISSN - 0161-3499
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-950x.2012.00968.x
Subject(s) - medicine , chemotherapy , univariate analysis , hazard ratio , radiation therapy , proportional hazards model , survival analysis , multivariate analysis , population , oncology , surgery , gastroenterology , confidence interval , environmental health
Objective To assess survival times in dogs that received palliative radiation therapy ( RT ) alone, and in combination with chemotherapy, pamidronate, or both for primary appendicular bone tumors and determine whether the addition of these adjunctive therapies affects survival. Study Design Retrospective case series. Animals Dogs (n = 50) with primary appendicular bone tumors. Methods Dogs were divided into the following treatment groups: RT alone, RT + chemotherapy, RT + pamidronate, and RT + chemotherapy + pamidronate. Dogs were considered for analysis if they had a known euthanasia date or follow‐up data were available for at least 120 days from the time of diagnosis. Survival time was defined as the time from admission to euthanasia. Cox proportional hazard models and K aplan– M eier survival functions were used. A P value of less than .05 was considered significant. Results Fifty dogs were considered for survival analysis. Median survival times ( MST s) were longest for dogs receiving RT and chemotherapy (307 days; 95% CI : 279, 831) and shortest in dogs receiving RT and pamidronate (69 days; 95% CI : 47, 112 days). The difference in MST between dogs who received pamidronate and those who did not in this population was statistically significant in a univariate ( P = .039) and multivariate analysis ( P = .0015). The addition of chemotherapy into any protocol improved survival ( P < .001). Conclusions Chemotherapy should be recommended in addition to a palliative RT protocol to improve survival of dogs with primary appendicular bone tumors. When combined with RT ± chemotherapy, pamidronate decreased MST and should not be included in a standard protocol.