Veterinary science has advanced enormously and this progress is constant today, thanks to this we can detect and understand more and more accurately what are all those pathologies that can affect our pet, how to treat them, what is your prognosis and if there is any method that makes it possible to prevent them.
This greater knowledge can lead us to the false perception that dogs get sick more and more easily, but this is not true and in part we should feel relieved to be able to give a better response when our dog gets sick. On other occasions we have already talked about cancer in dogs, but in this article on our site we want to talk to you in more detail about the hormonal tumors in dogs
What is a hormonal tumor?
To properly understand this concept, we must initially understand that the term "tumor" refers to an abnormal growth from a mass that naturally and initially physiologically it was already found in our dog's body.
You should not believe that any tumor is a cancer, some tumors are benign, this implies that they do not present a risk of metastasis (expansion) and that the biggest problem they can cause is the oppression of adjacent organs and tissues, with the discomfort and disorders that this can cause to our pet.
On the other hand, other tumors represent much more than an abnormal growth of a mass, in this case we speak of malignant tumors or cancerous tumors, in this case there is a risk of metastasis and these cancer cells that do not die and reproduce can migrate to other tissues.
In the medical nomenclature these two types of tumors receive different names, so let's define them to finish clarifying this important difference:
- Adenoma: Benign (non-cancerous) tumor of glandular tissue.
- Carcinoma: A malignant (cancerous) tumor that forms from the tissue that covers the organs.
A hormonal tumor can be benign or malignant but the characteristic that differentiates it is that it is directly linked to certain hormones, that is, this tumor contains hormone receptorsand the more hormones it captures, the more the tumor will grow regardless of its nature.
What type of hormonal tumors do dogs get?
The three most common types of hormonal tumors in dogs are as follows:
- Sebaceous perianal adenoma
- Sebaceous perianal adeno-carcinoma
- Perianal sebaceous adeno-carcinoma of apocrine glands
From the nomenclature we can already see that two of these hormonal tumors are indeed malignant, however, the first one we have named is benign, although it can also cause discomfort when located around the anus, making it difficult to evacuate stool and cause bleeding.
These tumors generally affect older male dogs that have not been neutered, as they depend on hormone levels, hence castration is one of the best methods to prevent them.
Nevertheless, females are not exempt, although the only ones that can present perianal adenomas are those that have been sterilized by octubrehysterectomy (surgical removal of ovaries and uterus).
What is the treatment for hormonal tumors in dogs?
Initially the veterinarian must perform a biopsy, that is, extract a small sample of the affected tissue to study it and thus determine if the cells that are found in this tissue are cancerous or not, this will allow knowing the nature of the tumor.
Whenever possible, surgical removal will be resorted to, specifically aggressive surgery in the sense that they must leave the edges clean so that the tumor does not reappear.
When the tumor is cancerous, its dependence on hormone levels must be determined exactly, and in addition to surgery, other methods such as chemotherapy, in order that the cancer does not appear again. The accuracy of the treatment, its duration and the prognosis will depend on the particular situation that each dog presents.
