Oncology

Objective-To evaluate clinical characteristics, outcome, and prognostic variables in a cohort of dogs surviving > 1 year after an initial diagnosis ofosteosarcoma. Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-90 client-owned dogs. Procedures-Medical records for an 11-year period from 1997 through 2008 were reviewed, and patients with appendicular osteosarcoma that lived > 1 year after initial histopathologic diagnosis were studied. Variables including signalment, weight, serum alkaline phosphatase activity, tumor location, surgery, and adjuvant therapies were recorded.

To gain insight into the adaptive mechanisms to tripedal locomotion and increase understanding of the biomechanical consequences of limb amputation, this study investigated kinetic and temporal gait parameters in dogs before and after the loss of a hindlimb was simulated. Nine clinically sound Beagle dogs trotted on an instrumented treadmill and the ground reaction forces as well as the footfall patterns were compared between quadrupedal and tripedal locomotion.

Objective-To describe outcomes for small-breed dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma. Design-Multi-institutional retrospective case series. Animals-51 small-breed dogs. Procedures-Records from participating Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology members were searched for dogs that weighed ≤ 15 kg (33 lb) with a histologic diagnosis of appendicular osteosarcoma. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine median survival times (MSTs), and Cox regression was performed to identify variables associated with survival time.

Chronic pain is a widely recognised problem in humans and is being increasingly recognised as a significant problem in dogs. Whilst a large number of therapies are described and utilised to treat chronic pain in dogs, there is a severe shortage of evidence to guide practitioners in selection of treatments. Until more evidence becomes available, practitioners should adopt a cautious approach, utilising licensed treatments first when possible. Non-pharmacological therapies should be incorporated into the chronic pain management plan whenever possible.