Mammary Gland Tumor in Dogs

Female dogs have ten teats. A mammary gland tumor is a growth in the area of any or several of the teats. It could appear as a hard or soft lump in the mammary gland area. At first, it will be covered with skin and hair. If advanced it could burst and look like an abscess . It is important for every owner of a female dog check out mammary area for lumps regularly since this is a frequently occurring cancer in canines. Mammary gland tumors and cancer is a very common issue in female canine. Early prevention commonly results in successful treatment efforts. Global elimination is possible, should non-breeding dogs and cats receive spay before their first head. If you find a growth or lump in the mammary tissue, schedule an veterinarian visit immediately, do not take a "wait and see" what happens stance.

The symptoms of a mammary tumor is a solid mass or multiple swellings. The tumors are easy to detect by palpitating the mammary glands. An early tumor feels like small pieces of pea gravel. If you number a dog’s teats from 1-5, with 1 being the teat closest to the head and 5 being the teat closest to the tail. Mammary tumors occur most frequently occur near teats 4 and 5. The masses can be red, purple or fleshy in color and also can be rather soft, or hard. If you find bleeding or ulceration near the teats, it is an indication of advanced cancer and seeing the veterinarian becomes more urgent. Other signs of advanced cancer are loss of weight, appetite and lethargy.

Types

Mammary gland tumors can be benign or malignant. According to Rave Foster DVM, benign tumors are often small smooth and slow growing. He breaks down the types of benign tumors into these categories:

• Complex adenomas
• Fibroadenomas
• Duct papillomas
• Simple adenomas

Also, according to Rave Foster, DVM malignant tumors tend to have irregular shape, firm attaching to the skin, and rapid growth. He broke down malignant masses into these types:

• Tubular adenocarcinomas
• Papillary adenocarcinomas
• Papillary cystic adenocarcinomas
• Solid carcinomas
• Anaplastic carcinomas
• Steosarcomas
• Fibrosarcomas
• Malignant mixed tumors

The causes of mammary cancer are as mysterious as the cause of most cancers in humans. Suspect are environmental concerns such as pesticides and cleaning agents, food with a lot of preservatives and additives. What is certain is that is hormonal involvement in mammary cancer. The incidence of mammary cancer in dogs spayed before their first heat is negligible (0.50%). The fewer heats a dog goes through before spaying, the less the chances this dog will develop mammary gland tumors.

A biopsy is the only definitive way to diagnose mammary cancer in canines. The veterinarian will send a sample to a lab to determine whether the growth is benign or malignant. Other tests can be performed to see if the cancer has spread such as an x-ray or ultrasound. Most veterinarians also may recommend having blood work to check on the dogs general health. This is a typical procedure before any surgery.

1. The best and most used treatment for cancer is surgery. Veterinarians remove the tumor along with a large area of surrounding tissue. This is the procedure used for 2-3 tumors
2. If there are more than 2-3 tumors, a veterinarian may recommend surgery to remove an entire chain of mammary gland (teats 1-5)
3. Chemotherapy may be recommended if the lab determined as tumor is high grade, aggressive, very invasive and not able to be completely removed by surgery. However according to the Ohio State University Veterinarian Medical Center, there is no proven efficacy of chemotherapy for canine mammary tumors.
4. Radiation therapy may be recommended for certain types of cancers but it is uncommon

The medical world is developing targeted treatment drugs for women. “Targeted” means that certain cells are very specifically targeted for destruction rather than a whole area of tissue. There is a good deal of research in veterinarian medicine to see whether these human therapies can be applied to dogs.

After surgery, most dogs will come home with a cone to keep themselves from licking the surgical incision. It is always important for an owner to watch an incision. If swelling of the incision doesn’t go down or redness appears, it is important to return to the veterinarian. These could be an infection or other complication. Your veterinarian will set up a follow up appointment to change bandaging and check the incision. The veterinarian will have the dog fast before surgery and give instructions on when to introduce food and water after surgery. The dog will tell you when she is ready for more activity but it is important to keep her quiet the first 48 hours.

After surgery, it is important for the pet owner to keep checking the mammary glands for reoccurrence of tumors. If the tumors were caught early, it is less likely to re-occur. The worst prognosis is for dogs where the malignant cancer was advanced, involved lymph nodes or aggressive. The best advice for pet owners is to regularly check your pet over from top to bottom, from ears to paws, from teeth to tail, to check for reoccurrence.

Mammary gland tumors can be expensive to treat. If you suspect your dog is at risk of a mammary gland tumor, start searching for pet insurance today. Wag!’s pet insurance comparison tool lets you compare plans from leading companies like PetPlan and Embrace. Find the “pawfect” plan for your pet in just a few clicks!