What are the stages of melanoma in dogs?
Clinical stages of canine oral melanoma Stage I tumor: <2 cm diameter, negative nodes. Stage II tumor: 2 to 4 cm diameter, negative nodes. Stage III tumor: >4 cm and/or positive nodes. Stage IV tumor: any size with distant metastatic disease.
How does melanoma affect a dog?
Melanomas represent almost 25% of digital (toe) tumors in dogs and may cause underlying destruction of the bony parts of the toe, causing significant pain and/or swelling. This may cause your pet to excessively lick or chew the affected toe and may even cause lameness.
Can melanoma in dogs be benign?
Unlike people, most cutaneous (skin) melanoma tumors in dogs are benign. Melanoma occurs more frequently in dogs with dark pigmented skin. Cutaneous melanoma tumors are usually solitary and appear as small brown/black masses. They can also appear as large, flat, or wrinkled tumors.
How do you treat melanoma in dogs?
Surgery is the treatment for a melanoma. Melanomas located in the haired skin (except for the nail bed) are typically benign and only require conservative simple surgical removal. If the tumor is located on the toenail bed, amputation of the entire toe is essential.
How long will my dog live with malignant melanoma?
Prognosis. Overall, dogs diagnosed with malignant melanoma and treated with surgery alone experience survival times of 4-6 months following surgery. They eventually develop life-limiting metastatic disease to the local lymph nodes and/or lungs.
Is canine melanoma painful?
Because these tumors can invade the underlying bone, deformity, pain, bleeding, and tooth loss are often eventually observed. Bleeding from the mouth, poor appetite, or weight loss may also become evident.
How aggressive is melanoma in dogs?
Melanoma tumors can behave in all kinds of ways. Some are extremely aggressive, not only because they can be highly locally invasive, but also because they have a tendency to spread readily to distant tissues (metastasis).
How Long Can dogs live with melanoma?
Is melanoma painful in dogs?