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Canine vascular neoplasia – a population‐based study of prognosis
Author(s) -
DAHL KJETIL,
GAMLEM HANS,
TVERDAL AAGE,
GLATTRE EYSTEIN,
MOE LARS
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0463.2008.125m5.x
Subject(s) - medicine , population , malignancy , log rank test , hazard ratio , proportional hazards model , survival analysis , pathology , gastroenterology , confidence interval , environmental health
The present study is the first complete presentation of the prognosis of all histological types of canine vascular tumours, using population‐based data. A retrospective, longitudinal, population‐based study of 420 dogs was carried out in 2001‐ 2002 using updated histologically verified diagnoses of vascular tumours and tumour‐like lesions recorded in Norwegian Canine Cancer Register (NCCR) 1990‐1998. Data on clinical signs and outcome of the vascular tumour, and causes of death, were obtained from dog owners and veterinary practitioners by mailed questionnaires. The a priori set inclusion criteria required that both questionnaire forms were completed, which was the case for 162 of the 420 dogs (39%). A benign tumour was diagnosed in 61%, whereas 15% had a tumour of intermediate malignancy and 24% had a malignant one. Survival time was estimated by the method of Kaplan‐Meier (product limit) survival plot, and the survival time for three histological diagnoses was compared by a log‐rank test. Hazard ratios were estimated by Cox proportional hazards model. A p‐value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Median survival time of dogs with malignant vascular tumour was ≤one day, and the respective median survival times for intermediate malignant and benign types were 101 and ≥1095 days (P<0.0001). The median survival time of dogs with splenic vascular tumours was ≥1095 days, 110 days and ≤one day for benign, intermediate malignant and malignant tumour forms, respectively (P<0.0001). Since the histological diagnosis was made without any knowledge of the outcome, the present study confirms that the new histological criteria and methods employed have indeed a prognostic value. This is the first time it has been shown that a histopathological differentiation of malignant tumours into two well‐defined subgroups differentiates the survival time correspondingly: dogs with less grave tumour diagnoses live 100–110 days longer than dogs with the obvious malignant tumours, if surgery alone is the treatment regime.