My dog has squamous cell carcinoma on his penis. What are the options?

It's a bit of a tough call, but I can see 2 potential options. You could have your vet take the tumor with conservative margins - i.e. leave enough to keep the penis covered - then biopsy that in order to get the grade of the tumor, so that you know what you're dealing with. After that, you might elect chemotherapy, or as you say simply monitor the site, since many are low grade. Your other option would be to consider a course of Palladia, which is a chemotherapeutic drug that is often used in mast cell tumors. It can significantly shrink them, so that they are easier to remove with margins.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Max. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. A procedure known as a fine needle aspirate will likely be performed. The veterinarian will use a small needle to collect a sample of cells to evaluate under the microscope. This can help to diagnose and let you know if the mass is cancerous or not. Based on these results, treatment recommendations can be made. If the mass continues to grow, it could potentially interfere with his ability to urinate. I hope this information helps!

So sorry to hear that Skylla has this problem. Depending on the location of the cancer in the bladder, surgery would be the best option followed by radiation. Radiation alone is not usually recommended as the bladder tends to get very damaged and non-functional. As far as non-surgical options, your vet is correct to give an NSAID like Previcoxx however, a better NSAID to use would be piroxicam but I do not know if it is available in your country. If an NSAID alone is not working we then go to using NSAID plus chemotherapy (mitoxantrone). A third option is chemotherapy alone with vinblastine or other combinations of drugs. You will need to speak to your vet to see what options are available in your country and the costs involved. Also, it depends on where in the bladder Skylla's cancer is located. You could also refer your vet to this article if they are not used to treating this type of cancer. ( https://www.purdue.edu/vet/pcop/files/docs/CanineUrinaryBladderCancer.pdf ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on these reports, I would recommend a referral to an oncologist to talk about treatment options for this cancerous mass. These types of tumors can be quite aggressive and may involve surgical debulking of the mass in addition to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. I would discuss this with the veterinarian that performed these diagnostics in regards to who he / she would recommend for an oncologist so that you can discuss your options for Tiny. I wish you the best of luck and please do not hesitate to contact us further if you have any other questions / concerns.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Olivia has a tumor in her mouth. Surgical removal or radiation therapy would most likely be recommended. I went through this with my own dog and chose to just keep him comfortable. So the question you have to ask yourself is how much do you want to put Olivia through at her age? If you want to get more specific answers, it might be best to consult with a veterinary oncologist to discuss surgical options vs. Non surgical options. There is always the route of comfort care and keeping Olivia pain free and comfortable with medications. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

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.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, surgery is the mainstay of treatment. It is the only proven method to influence survival of dogs with these tumors. Usually dogs with this type of tumors also have kidney failure or high calcium as well which can complicate things. Metastasis (spread) can also be a problem. There is a drug called Palladia (a chemotherapy agent) that is usually given to the dogs after surgery however, I am unsure if it is helpful without surgery being done first. You would have to consult with a veterinary oncologist about that. That being said, that medication is extremely expensive. There is not much that can be done short of surgery and chemotherapy. If you cannot afford treatment then all you can do is make her as comfortable as possible and when it gets to the point that her quality of life is no longer good then you should consider humane euthanasia so she does not suffer. There are no over the counter medications that can be recommended. Hopefully this article will answer more of your questions. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/anal-gland-tumors ) Again, I am sorry to hear this. I hope this helps. Best wishes.