My dog has a mast cell tumor and is vomiting. What's the prognosis?

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog! Unfortunately, mast cell tumors do not have a good prognosis as they prone to spreading and some of them can release histamine, a hormone which is responsible for allergy-like reactions. It is definitely concerning that your dog is unable to keep food down and has additional tumors. While surgery is an option, there are some medications that your vet can prescribe to make your dog more comfortable. You may have some difficult decisions to make about his future, but it is important to consider his quality of life and overall condition. I'm happy to answer any additional questions you may have or address any concerns.

Mast cell tumor survival rate is entirely dependent on the stage of the mast cell and the mitosis index (seen histologically). So this is a bit more involved than you were likely anticipating it to be. So if Lady has not had a biopsy to gather this information already then there is no way of determining her survival rate unfortunately. The best prognosis is a grade 2 MCt with a mitosis index of <5 at 70 months. The worse was a grade 2 MCT with mitotic index >5 and a survival time of 5 months. Another study suggests that for high grade tumors (MCT grade 2 and above) the mean survival time is <4 months and for low grade tumors (MCT grade 1) the mean survival time is >2 hrs. I hope this helps and feel free to post your question again once you have the necessary information of grading and mitotic index so we can tell you specifically what your pets cancer survival rate is. I am sorry Lady does have mast cell cancer and I hope that you can keep her comfortable for the time being. Best wishes and take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Overall, from what I'm reading and seeing, I have a low level of concern about Mukwa. This lesion does not look typical of a mast cell tumor (though that type of cancer does not always follow the "rules"). In general, non-cancerous things do not become cancerous with time - though there are exceptions. Occasional vomiting is not necessarily something I equate with Mast Cell Tumors, but does warrant a chat with your vet to see if it's something worth looking into. More concerning signs to me would be decreased appetite, weight loss, or lethargy. Best of luck to you and Mukwa!

A mast cell tumor is a type of cancer-- if your dog has a mast cell tumor, it has a form of cancer. Generally, mast cell tumors are in the skin or in the connective tissue just under the skin. Sometimes, these are more aggressive and do spread to other parts of the body including the intestine or colon. Primary mast cell cancer in the intestine or colon are quite rare in dogs, usually its the result of spread of the cancer from a primary tumor in the skin. Mast cell tumors contain histamine. Therefore, symptoms can occur pretty quickly. Histamine affects the entire body-- it can cause vomiting, hives, and vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels which can lead to swelling, bruising, etc). Vomiting or diarrhea as a symptom does not necessarily mean that the cancer has spread to the GI tract, rather it could just be histamine release from a primary tumor in the skin. I hope that clears things up a bit for you. Here is some additional information that you may find helpful. https://www.petcoach.co/article/mast-cell-tumors/ https://vth.vetmed.wsu.edu/specialties/oncology/information-for-owners/mast-cell-cancer

A response would be expected within 4-6weeks of starting paladia. Given the severity of symptoms you describe, I would recommend review by an oncologist to assess what else, if anything can be added or adjusted to improve her comfort and quality of life. Frequent histamine episodes are definitely cause for concern and consideration of euthanasia is a very valid option at this stage.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Lymphoma is in fact a cancer. This is typically treated with chemotherapy. There are many chemotherapy options that can be considered such as a multi agent protocol called CHOP. There are other chemotherapeutic medications that can be considered depending on what your veterinarian has available. In general, chemotherapy is well-tolerated in dogs when done appropriately. If not able to proceed with chemotherapy, there are other options like prednisone therapy alone which in itself can help dogs with lymphoma though for a very short amount of time. The prognosis with chemotherapy varies and depends on the type of lymphoma he has (B-cell vs. T-cell) and the treatment chosen. The prognosis varies between 6 to 12 months with chemotherapy and about 2 months on just prednisone. Please feel free to request a consultation with me if you have more specific questions. Good luck!

I'm sorry for your baby going through this! Unfortunately lymphoma requires chemotherapy. Mast cell tumors if completely removed may not require any further treatment. Therefore it is very important to know where the mass removed was lymphoma or not. I would recommend proceeding with the special staining needed to get that answer. If it is lymphoma and chemotherapy is not done most dogs do not survive longer than 30 to 45 days. That is another reason why it is important to get an accurate diagnosis as early as possible.