My 6-year-old dog has a hard leg lump. What could it be? Is biopsy needed?

Thank you for providing a picture of Mia's lump! It could be a benign tumor, a cyst, or a malignant tumor. Unfortunately in a senior dog, there is always a chance it could be malignant. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would take her into the vet in the next couple of days to have this lump examined and diagnosed so it can be treated as needed. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Without a physical exam or diagnostics, it is difficult to determine if this is something to worry over. Ideally, a fine needle aspirate or biopsy should be done to collect samples for pathology. This may provide a diagnosis. X-rays of the limb may be recommended to rule out bony involvement. Since you state it is growing, it should be removed before it becomes too large. As it is, that is a difficult area to close after a mass removal.

I'm sorry to hear this is happening. Unfortunately, bone cancer tends to be aggressive. I would recommend first having radiographs done to verify that a tumor is present. If there is in fact bone cancer, talk to her vet to see if surgery makes sense. Many times these tumors have already spread by the time clinical signs show up. The lump could have other origins as well so the first step is to find out what it is. I hope this helps!

BB is so handsome! If the vet is recommending a biopsy on it, I would have that done. In a senior dog, there is always a chance that any lump could be malignant, and tumors cannot be drained. They need to be removed surgically, but the only way to know for sure what is causing the lump is to have it diagnosed. Any suspicious lump should be examined and treated to be sure it isn't something serious. I would make an appointment for BB to have this lump diagnosed in order for it to be treated. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

This lump on Sam could be benign or malignant. In an older dog, there is always a chance any lump could be malignant. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of its cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. Once the cause of the lump is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options if needed. Give his vet a call tomorrow to make him an appointment. I hope this helps!

It would be a good idea to have the lump removed, as there is always a chance any lump in a senior dog could be malignant. Plus not every type of cancer can be diagnosed with an aspirate, further tests are needed like a biopsy. I hope this helps!

Looking at the photo and considering your description of the progression of this, I would suspect that it is a growing mass. It could simply be a fatty lump such as a lipoma. Other possibilities would be a soft tissue swelling due to trauma, but this seems less likely considering the progression. I would head to the vet and get them to test the lump to see exactly what it is. If it is just a lipoma and not causing bother it should not need to be removed.