There are many advances that veterinary science has had and it is a process that occurs very frequently today, that is why there is the possibility of understanding each time and in a more exact way, each of the diseases that can cause damage. serious to our dog; el indicated treatment, diagnosis, as well as possible methods that can be used to prevent them.
On many occasions we have heard about cancer in dogs, that is why today we bring the information needed to know more about these hormonal tumors.
What are hormonal tumors
The first thing we must understand to answer this question is the term tumor. This refers to abnormal growth of cells starting from a kind of mass, which is physiological at first, and which are found inside our pet.
We have to avoid thinking that the presence of all tumors can mean cancer. Some of these tumors can be benign, so they have no risk of metastasis occurring.
The most serious problem that this type of tumor can give is that of an oppression in the nearby organs or tissues, including the discomfort as well as the disorders that these can cause in the animal.
On the other hand, there are tumors that represent much more than an abnormal development of the aforementioned mass, therefore, we are talking about the malignant tumors commonly known as cancerous tumors.
When there is the presence of this type of tumor, the risk of metastasis occurring is higherSince these cells do not have the ability to die, therefore, they reproduce until they reach any other tissue in the body.
According to the nomenclature of medicine, these are tumors that receive other names, which are defined as follows:
- Adenomas: This is a benign tumor or also known as a non-cancerous tumor of the glandular tissue.
- Carcinoma: This is what we know as a malignant or cancerous tumor, which has its formation starting from the tissue that is responsible for covering each of the organs.
In this way, a hormonal tumor has the possibility of being benign as well as malignant, but what makes them different is that they are directly related to hormones, which in other words means that this is a type of tumor that has in its components hormone receptors, and the more hormones it can capture, the larger the tumor will be, no matter what its nature.
Classification of hormonal tumors
Hormonal tumors that generally harm dogs are:
- Adenoma, which is perianal sebaceous.
- Adenocarcinoma, which is perianal sebaceous.
- Sdenocarcinoma, which is perianal sebaceous glands that are apocrine.
Taking into account the nomenclature that we explained above, we can understand that two of the tumors that we mentioned are malignant. These cause discomfort when they are in the areas near the anus, causing the dog to expel stool with difficulty and observe the presence of bleeding.
This kind of tumor usually affects adult male dogs and that they have not been castrated. Since this can depend on the level of hormones, the best way to prevent hormonal tumors in dogs is neutering.
However, females are not free from this type of problem either, despite the fact that those that have the possibility of having perianal adenomas are those that are sterilized by an ovariohysterectomy; This refers to the removal of the ovaries and uterus through surgery.
How to treat hormonal tumors in dogs
The first thing a vet has to do is a biopsy, which means that it is necessary to take a small piece of the tissue that is affected.
This sample will be studied, and in this way it will be possible to determine if each of the cells that are in said sample are classified as carcinogenic or not. Therefore, It is a procedure that will allow us to know what the nature of the tumor is.
As long as the possibility exists, it will be necessary to take into account the option of performing an operation. It is an aggressive surgery, since it is necessary to leave each of the edges completely clean so that the tumor does not have a new opportunity to appear in the body.
In certain cases, these are incisions of about three hundred and sixty degrees, with a postoperative Quite complicated, due to the effort that the animal puts in when defecating, the fact that it comes to drag the scar across the ground to try to alleviate the discomfort, as well as the complications that may appear when a scar is in a area that is constantly wet and full of dirt.
The cleanings should be done very frequently and the reviews with the specialist will be every three days, since these habits will be of great help to ensure good healing.
This type of tumor usually has a approximate survival rate of about five years or more, and the use of cytostatic anti-inflammatory drugs is recommended, as well as some healing product.
If the tumor is classified as carcinogenic, it is vitally important that its dependence on hormonal levels be determined exactly, since apart from a surgical intervention, there is the possibility of using another type of treatment such as chemotherapy.
The main objective of chemotherapy is to prevent the cancer from reappearing in the dog's body. How exact this treatment can be, the time it can take, as well as its prognosis, is something that comes to depend on the particular circumstance that may occur in each pet.
On the other hand, there is also the possibility of applying radiation therapy to dogs who have a cancerous tumor.
Radiation therapy aims attack disease through wave rays that have high energy, or streams of particles called radiation, which penetrate the affected area. It is quite similar to what happens with X-rays, but the dose in which it is administered is much higher.
When radiation is administered in this way, has the ability to kill cells or can also prevent cells from developing and they get to divide, since these cells develop and in turn divide with greater speed compared to the rest of the cells found in the body.
When implementing radiation therapy, a large number of cancers of different types can be successfully treated. Those cells that multiply the most are the ones that will have the greatest sensitivity to radiation.