An Article From A Qualified Veterinary Surgeon. { Marcel } Mast Cell Tumours In The Dog, Grade, Diagnosis and Treatment. A short concise guide for dog owners. { On Internet searches I have found that many owners erroneously use the term ” marcel ” }
Mast cell tumours are a fairly common tumour in dogs and I have been frequently asked about them, the following would be the basis of my normal reply at the first consultation where a client had asked for general information.
1. Diagnosis : Biopsy and Histology are essential for two reason, one is to verify that you are actually dealing with a mast cell tumour and two, mast cells are graded on a one to three basis by the histologist and this tells you how things are likely to go in the future.
2. Grading of mast cell tumours.
A. Grade 1 : Least malignant, surgery alone is likely to resolve it. Good outlook.
B. Grade 2 : More malignant, surgery may resolve the situation, or it may recur other treatment options might be an advantage. Guarded outlook.
C. Grade 3 : Highly malignant, may spread. Poor outlook.
3. The treatment options are :
A. Wide margin excision { Surgery } : If properly carried out and you are only dealing with a single low grade tumour I would have said that about half of such mast cell tumours would be permanently resolved in this way.
B. Prednisolone : Mast cell tumours are very sensitive to prednisolone { prednisone } and this may be used on it’s own or in combination with surgery. This drug seems to be very effective in this situation and is relatively safe and is cheap.
C. Other Chemotherapy : It is possible to use conventional chemotherapy protocols in the case of very malignant tumours or where other measures have failed. It is use is somewhat controversial and this approach is likely to be a last ditch attempt.
D. Radiation therapy : This is an effective form of treatment for some mast cell tumours, either on it’s own or in combination with surgery and / or chemotherapy. One downside of radiation therapy would be cost.
A plan of action : If I was dealing with a suspect mast cell tumour I would carry out wide margin excision following normal protocols including instrument changes during surgery etc. I would then have histology carried out by an outside laboratory and based on these results I would then sit down with the owner and discuss the results, outlook and any future treatment options. I would also check for signs that the tumour had already spread in the body via blood tests and clinical examination or other diagnostics..
Note : This is meant as a short concise guide or initial overview. Your vet will discuss the situation in more detail.
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