Metronomic administration of lomustine following palliative radiation therapy for appendicular osteosarcoma in dogs.

The purpose of this study was to determine if metronomic administration of lomustine following palliative radiation therapy (RT) improved length of palliation and therefore survival in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma compared to treatment with palliative radiation alone. A search of medical records identified dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma, treated with palliative RT (2 fractions of 8 Gray in a 24 hour time frame, day 0 and day 1; or day 0, 6 hours apart). Data collected included signalment, history, clinical signs, physical examination findings, clinicopathologic abnormalities, extent of disease, response, toxicity, other therapy, survival time, and whether dogs received metronomic lomustine (ML) or not. Of 86 patients, 43 received ML while 43 did not. Median survival time (MST) was not significantly different (P = 0.84), at 184 +/- 17 days for patients which received ML, and 154 +/- 20 days for those which did not. Metronomic lomustine administration was well-tolerated, but it did not improve survival in dogs with palliatively treated osteosarcoma.

Administration métronomique de lomustine après radiothérapie palliative pour le traitement des ostéosarcomes appendiculaires chez le chien. L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer si l'administration métronomique de lomustine après radiothérapie palliative (RT) améliore la durée de palliation, et par conséquent la durée de vie, des chiens atteints d'ostéosarcome appendiculaire, en comparaison avec la radiothérapie seule. Les dossiers médicaux des chiens atteints d'ostéosarcome appendiculaire traités par radiothérapie palliative (2 fractions de 8 Gray dans un intervalle de 24 heures, jour 0 et jour 1; ou jour 0, à 6 heures d'intervalle) ont été identifiés et évalués. Les données collectées incluaient l'anamnèse, les commémoratifs, les anomalies de l'examen clinique et des analyses de laboratoires, les résultats du bilan d'extension, la réponse au(x) traitement(s), le développement de toxicités, d'éventuelles autres thérapies prodiguées, la durée de vie et si les chiens avaient été traités avec de la lomustine ou non. Sur 86 patients, 43 ont reçu de la lomustine tandis que 43 n'en ont pas reçu. La médiane de survie (MST) n'était pas significativement différente (P = 0.84), 184 +/− 17 jours pour les patients traités avec de la lomustine, et 154 +/− 20 jours pour ceux n'ayant pas reçu de lomustine. L'administration métronomique de lomustine était bien tolérée mais ne prodigua pas d'amélioration de la durée de vie lors de la prise en charge palliative des chiens atteints d'ostéosarcome.(Traduit par les auteurs).

Predictors of outcome in dogs with subcutaneous or intramuscular hemangiosarcoma.

OBJECTIVE: To identify prognostic factors in a large group of dogs with subcutaneous or intramuscular hemangiosarcoma (HSA) or both. Design-Multi-institutional retrospective cohort study. Animals-71 dogs with subcutaneous or intramuscular HSA. PROCEDURES: Medical records of affected dogs were reviewed. The following factors were evaluated for an association with outcome: dog age and sex, clinical signs, anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutrophilia, tumor stage at diagnosis, achievement of complete excision, intramuscular involvement, presence of gross disease, tumor recurrence, and treatment. RESULTS: Of the 71 cases identified, 16 (29%) had intramuscular tumor involvement. For all dogs, median time to tumor progression and overall survival time (OST) were 116 and 172 days, respectively; 25% survived to 1 year. Univariate analysis identified presence of clinical signs or metastasis at diagnosis, dog age, tumor size, use of any surgery, and presence of gross disease as predictors of time to tumor progression and OST. There was no significant difference in survival time between dogs with respect to type of HSA. Multivariate analysis confirmed that adequate local tumor control, tumor diameter ≤ 4 cm, presence of metastasis at diagnosis, and presence of gross disease were significantly associated with OST. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Subcutaneous and intramuscular HSA remains a heterogeneous group of tumors that generally carries a poor prognosis. Adequate local control of smaller tumors with no associated clinical signs or metastasis may provide the best chance of long-term survival.