What chemotherapy options are available for my cat's SCC?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely a malignant tumor unfortunately. Cats are very well known for having a mouth tumor called squamous cell carcinoma which carries a poor prognosis. However, it could still be something else and this is quite inside of the mouth unless there is also tumor on the inside. The only way to know is by doing some sampling via fine needle aspiration or possibly a biopsy. If squamous cell carcinoma is confirmed, it is not likely at all to respond to steroids or antibiotics much other than mild decrease in inflammation. Treatment for squamous cell carcinoma is limited by how aggressive this tumor is though sometimes surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are options. Sorry for the sad news. Let's hope it is more on the benign side. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about Foxy's squamous cell carcinoma. The decision to pursue radiation and chemo is a very personal one, and it's difficult to offer specific input without any knowledge about how aggressive Foxy's tumor is, and specifically where it's located. I'm gathering from your reference to cherry eye that the tumor is growing at the margin of the eye. The goal with radiation and chemotherapy in dogs is often a bit different than with people. In people, the goal is to be as aggressive as it takes to try to cure the cancer - and in the meantime, people can consent to feeling pretty crummy throughout treatment, because they understand the final goal. In animals, since they cannot consent nor understand the long-term benefit of chemo, our goal is more often to slow down and shrink the cancer, with the hope of buying more time with our pets - but it is much less commonly curative. Generally the oncologist with a dog will try to find the dose of chemo that will slow/shrink the tumor, while allowing the dog to continue to feel pretty good. So, there really is no right or wrong answer. For what it's worth, I think if financial aspect of the treatment is feasible, then there are few downsides to pursuing treatment. However, if there are financial limitations, it is important to keep in mind that usually these treatments do not cure the cancer, but simply slow it down for awhile. Again, this input is all without having specific knowledge about Foxy or her tumor - so I do encourage you to have this conversation with your vet, or request referral to an oncologist. Even if you choose not to pursue chemo/radiation, the initial consultation fee may be worth doing in order to have all of your questions answered and discuss all the pros/cons of different courses of treatment. Hope this helps.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The costs for this will vary depending on what chemotherapy agents are used and length of treatment and response to treatment. Costs for these drugs can vary depending on what veterinary hospital you go to. Typically, for low grade (small cell) lymphoma, oral chemotherapy agents can be used. These can be expensive and may be over $100 a month. I hope this helps and thanks again for posting!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is a very rare sarcoma. I haven't personally diagnosed a cat or a dog with this cancer. The best place to get information is from a Veterinary Oncologist. There are online sources and journals for Veterinarians but non-Veterinarians can not access them. If you are in the medical field you can do Pubmed searches for journals. If I was you I would ask my Vet to print information off VIN (Veterinary Information Network) for you. But I can honestly tell you that there won't be a lot of information. We extrapolate all oncology treatments from human medicine. What you are going to find is experimental treatments and little information on prognosis. Treatment and prognosis will likely be based on the grade on biopsy. Further excision, radiation and possibly chemo are treatment options. I think the best thing for you and Sox is to set up a consult with a Veterinary Oncologist. I hope this helps and I wish you and Sox the best!

Doxorubicin is a very effect chemotherapy drug but, with all medications, there can be side effects. Since your vet knows your cat's entire medical history, he/she is the best person to guide you with advice on the best treatment regime for your cat. I am assuming that your vet believes that this drug is needed to help treat your cat's cancer and the benefits outweigh any risks associated with the drug. Your vet will need to monitor his kidney values closely for any changes while taking the drug and discontinue, if needed. So sorry that your cat has a tumor and I really hope that he goes into remission.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that max has this problem. I would recommend a consultation with a veterinary oncologist to discuss this further. It is likely that surgical removal and chemotherapy will be recommended. Complete penile amputation combined with perineal urethrostomy (creating a new hole to urinate from in the perineum) is likely what will be recommended. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Below is a helpful article that discusses this further in detail. http://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11181&meta=generic&catId=30097&id=3852322

That's a complicated recommendation to give, especially since we don't know the type of cancer. It is possible that local excision could be curative. It is also possible that after local excision and a diagnosis from histopathology, we find that amputation is needed. In my opinion solely based on the pictures, I would probably remove the tumor and not try to get aggressive clean borders and wait to see what the tumor is before doing anything more drastic.