IS RADIOTHERAPY IN CUTANEOUS GRADE II MAST CELL TUMORS MANDATORY?
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A very important question, because cutaneous mast cell tumors are very common and radiotherapy is not always and everywhere available. The answer: If these tumors are completely excised, adjuvant radiotherapy might not be necessary in the majority of dogs, as this study shows.
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A retrospective study was performed on 31 dogs with completely excised, grade II, cutaneous mast cell tumors in order to determine recurrence rates and sites.
Distant tumor recurrence developed in 22% of dogs, and local tumor recurrence developed in 11% of dogs; however, the vast majority of these animals were incompletely staged initially.
Complete surgical excision of grade II mast cell tumors was associated with effective local control in 89% of these dogs.
Therefore, adjuvant radiation therapy might not be indicated in the majority of dogs with complete surgical excision.
Source: Chick Weisse, Frances S. Shofer, Karin Sorenmo (2002): Recurrence Rates and Sites for Grade II Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors Following Complete Surgical Excision. In: Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 38:71-73 (2002)
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