Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 31500

Special Issue Editor

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: oncogenic mechanisms; molecular oncology; chromatin remodeling; cell-virus interactions; vaccines and cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, pets are showing an increasing incidence of tumors (e.g. lymphoma, mastocytoma, mammary tumors, skin tumors), representing the leading cause of death in clinical practice. This Special Issue, “Tumors in Pets: new diagnostic and therapeutic tools”, will focus on novel molecular mechanisms involved in oncogenesis, on promising biomarkers that allow an early identification of patients and on new therapeutic strategies to improve the clinical outcome. Indeed, in recent years, both basic investigation and clinical research are moving towards the detection of accurate biomarkers to optimize diagnostic procedures, to mitigate tumor progression and to overcome therapeutic challenges (e.g. safety, tolerability, target inhibition and resistance). Furthermore, clinical studies on the potential use of surgery combined or not with radiotherapy and on the use of pets as models of cancer are of major interest and welcome.

Thus, authors are invited to submit original research and review articles that focus on these significant and fast-progressing areas of veterinary oncology. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Molecular mechanisms of cancer;
  • Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers;
  • New immunochemotherapy strategies;
  • Surgery alone, or combined with radiotherapy;
  • Cancer models.

Prof. Dr.  Fernando Ferreira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • oncogenic mechanisms
  • biomarkers
  • new therapies
  • surgery
  • radiotherapy
  • cancer models

Published Papers (8 papers)

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16 pages, 1640 KiB  
Article
Faecal Proteomics and Functional Analysis of Equine Melanocytic Neoplasm in Grey Horses
by Parichart Tesena, Amornthep Kingkaw, Narumon Phaonakrop, Sittiruk Roytrakul, Paviga Limudomporn, Wanwipa Vongsangnak and Attawit Kovitvadhi
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(2), 94; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci9020094 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2897
Abstract
Equine melanocytic neoplasm (EMN) is a common disease in older grey horses. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential proteins throughout EMN stages from faecal proteomic outlining using functional analysis. Faecal samples were collected from the rectum of 25 grey [...] Read more.
Equine melanocytic neoplasm (EMN) is a common disease in older grey horses. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential proteins throughout EMN stages from faecal proteomic outlining using functional analysis. Faecal samples were collected from the rectum of 25 grey horses divided into three groups; normal group without EMN (n = 10), mild EMN (n = 6) and severe EMN (n = 9). Based on the results, 5910 annotated proteins out of 8509 total proteins were assessed from proteomic profiling. We observed differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between the normal group and the EMN group, and 109 significant proteins were obtained, of which 28 and 81 were involved in metabolic and non-metabolic functions, respectively. We found 10 proteins that play a key role in lipid metabolism, affecting the tumour microenvironment and, consequently, melanoma progression. Interestingly, FOSL1 (FOS like 1, AP-1 transcription factor subunit) was considered as a potential highly expressed protein in a mild EMN group involved in melanocytes cell and related melanoma. Diacylglycerol kinase (DGKB), TGc domain-containing protein (Tgm2), structural maintenance of chromosomes 4 (SMC4) and mastermind-like transcriptional coactivator 2 (MAML2) were related to lipid metabolism, facilitating melanoma development in the severe-EMN group. In conclusion, these potential proteins can be used as candidate biomarkers for the monitoring of early EMN, the development of EMN, further prevention and treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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12 pages, 6214 KiB  
Article
Comparison between Histological Features and Strain Elastographic Characteristics in Canine Mammary Carcinomas
by Nieves Pastor, Lorena Espadas, Massimo Santella, Luis Javier Ezquerra, Raquel Tarazona and María Esther Durán
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(1), 9; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci9010009 - 28 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1653
Abstract
Elastography is a sonographic technique that provides a noninvasive evaluation of the stiffness of a lesion. The objective of this work was to evaluate the accuracy of strain elastography, the most accessible modality in clinical practice, to discriminate between different histological types of [...] Read more.
Elastography is a sonographic technique that provides a noninvasive evaluation of the stiffness of a lesion. The objective of this work was to evaluate the accuracy of strain elastography, the most accessible modality in clinical practice, to discriminate between different histological types of malignant mammary neoplasms in the canine species, which can provide complementary information in real time to the diagnosis and thus help in the choice of surgical technique. A total of 34 females with 56 mammary carcinomas were selected and classified into three histological groups according to their aggressiveness. The histological and elastographic characteristics of these malignant tumors were analyzed and compared to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of strain elastography. Visual score presented a sensitivity of 88.0%, specificity of 58.1%, and accuracy of 71.43% in distinguishing the most aggressive group of carcinomas. The strain ratio had a sensitivity of 84.0%, specificity of 61.1%, and accuracy of 69.64%. On the other hand, intratumoral strain ratio obtained a sensitivity of 71.40% and specificity of 61.90% when intratumoral fibrosis was taken as reference, with an accuracy of 66.07%. Similarly, peritumoral strain ratio was also positively related to fibrosis in the periphery of lesions (p ≤ 0.001), with a sensitivity of 93.80%, specificity of 77.50% and an accuracy of 92.87%. In conclusion, accuracy of this elastographic modality can be a useful method to differentiate more aggressive histological types. Therefore, it represents an additional diagnostic technique useful in the daily clinic thanks to the short time required for the examination, which allows real-time visualization and immediate interpretation of the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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12 pages, 3078 KiB  
Article
Predicting Dynamic Clinical Outcomes of the Chemotherapy for Canine Lymphoma Patients Using a Machine Learning Model
by Jamin Koo, Kyucheol Choi, Peter Lee, Amanda Polley, Raghavendra Sumanth Pudupakam, Josephine Tsang, Elmer Fernandez, Enyang James Han, Stanley Park, Deanna Swartzfager, Nicholas Seah Xi Qi, Melody Jung, Mary Ocnean, Hyun Uk Kim and Sungwon Lim
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(12), 301; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci8120301 - 02 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4757
Abstract
First-line treatments of cancer do not always work, and even when they do, they cure the disease at unequal rates mostly owing to biological and clinical heterogeneity across patients. Accurate prediction of clinical outcome and survival following the treatment can support and expedite [...] Read more.
First-line treatments of cancer do not always work, and even when they do, they cure the disease at unequal rates mostly owing to biological and clinical heterogeneity across patients. Accurate prediction of clinical outcome and survival following the treatment can support and expedite the process of comparing alternative treatments. We describe the methodology to dynamically determine remission probabilities for individual patients, as well as their prospects of progression-free survival (PFS). The proposed methodology utilizes the ex vivo drug sensitivity of cancer cells, their immunophenotyping results, and patient information, such as age and breed, in training machine learning (ML) models, as well as the Cox hazards model to predict the probability of clinical remission (CR) or relapse across time for a given patient. We applied the methodology using the three types of data obtained from 242 canine lymphoma patients treated by (L)-CHOP chemotherapy. The results demonstrate substantial enhancement in the predictive accuracy of the ML models by utilizing features from all the three types of data. They also highlight superior performance and utility in predicting survival compared to the conventional stratification method. We believe that the proposed methodology can contribute to improving and personalizing the care of cancer patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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9 pages, 2052 KiB  
Article
A Double Histochemical/Immunohistochemical Staining for the Identification of Canine Mast Cells in Light Microscopy
by Francesca Gobbo, Giuseppe Sarli, Margherita De Silva, Giorgia Galiazzo, Roberto Chiocchetti and Maria Morini
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(10), 229; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci8100229 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3383
Abstract
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a widely used technique in diagnostic pathology, but the simultaneous analysis of more than one antibody at a time with different chromogens is rather complex, time-consuming, and quite expensive. In order to facilitate the identification of mast cells (MCs) during [...] Read more.
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a widely used technique in diagnostic pathology, but the simultaneous analysis of more than one antibody at a time with different chromogens is rather complex, time-consuming, and quite expensive. In order to facilitate the identification of mast cells (MCs) during immunohistochemical analysis of membrane and/or nuclear markers, we propose a new staining method that includes the association of IHC and toluidine blue as a counterstain. To achieve this goal, we tested c-kit, Ki67, and cannabinoid receptor 2 on several cases of cutaneous canine mast cell tumors (MCTs), cutaneous mastocytosis, and atopic dermatitis. The results obtained show how this double staining technique, although limited to non-cytoplasmic markers and of little use in poorly differentiated MCTs in which MC metachromasia is hard to see, can be used during the evaluation of nuclear and/or membranous immunohistochemical markers in all canine cutaneous disorders, especially if characterized by the presence of a low number of MCs. It can help to evaluate those MCTs in which neoplastic MCs must be clearly distinguished from inflammatory cells that can infiltrate the tumor itself, in facilitating the calculation of the Ki67 index. Moreover, it can be used to study the expression of new markers in both animal and human tissues containing MCs and in MC disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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13 pages, 1678 KiB  
Article
VEGF-B, VEGF-A, FLT-1, KDR, ERBB2, EGFR, GRB2, RAC1, CDH1 and HYAL-1 Genes Expression Analysis in Canine Mammary Gland Tumors and the Association with Tumor ClinicoPathological Parameters and Dog Breed Assessment
by Simona Sakalauskaitė, Violeta Šaltenienė, Darja Nikitina, Rasa Ugenskienė, Vita Riškevičienė, Birutė Karvelienė and Nomeda Juodžiukynienė
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(10), 212; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci8100212 - 30 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2406
Abstract
Canine mammary gland tumors (CMTs) are one of the most prevalent cancers in dogs and a good model for human breast cancer (BC), however gene expression analysis of CMTs is scarce. Although divergence of genes expression has been found in BC of different [...] Read more.
Canine mammary gland tumors (CMTs) are one of the most prevalent cancers in dogs and a good model for human breast cancer (BC), however gene expression analysis of CMTs is scarce. Although divergence of genes expression has been found in BC of different human races, no such research of different dog’s breeds has been done. The purpose of this study was to investigate expression of the VEGF-B, VEGF-A, FLT-1, KDR, ERBB2, EGFR, GRB2, RAC1, CDH1 and HYAL-1 genes of canine mammary carcinomas, compare the expression levels with clinicopathological parameters and analyze expression disparities between different breeds. Carcinomas and adjacent tissues were collected from female dogs to perform routine histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We found that VEGF-B and EGFR genes were overexpressed in the mammary gland carcinomas compared to adjacent tissue. VEGF-B gene expression had associations with different parameters (tumor size, grade, and absence of metastasis). Furthermore, differences in VEGF-B, FLT1, ERBB2, GRB2, RAC1, CDH1 and HYAL-1 genes expression have been found in different breed dogs (German Shepherd, Yorkshire Terrier) and mixed-breed dogs indicating that a dog’s breed could determine a molecular difference, outcome of cancer and should be accounted as a confounding factor in the future gene expression research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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12 pages, 3274 KiB  
Article
Prevalence of Reproductive Disorders including Mammary Tumors and Associated Mortality in Female Dogs
by Claire Beaudu-Lange, Sylvain Larrat, Emmanuel Lange, Kevin Lecoq and Frédérique Nguyen
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(9), 184; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci8090184 - 04 Sep 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6289
Abstract
Female dogs, especially intact or neutered lately, are at increased risk for reproductive disorders including mammary tumors (MTs). This retrospective study evaluated the prevalence of reproductive pathology and associated mortality in a cohort of female dogs presented at a single veterinary clinic. The [...] Read more.
Female dogs, especially intact or neutered lately, are at increased risk for reproductive disorders including mammary tumors (MTs). This retrospective study evaluated the prevalence of reproductive pathology and associated mortality in a cohort of female dogs presented at a single veterinary clinic. The medical records of female dogs born in 2000–2003 were reviewed. The study included 599 cases, of which 293 were followed up until death. Causes of death were analyzed according to the spaying status. Among the 599 female dogs, 306 were intact (51%), 50 (8%) had been spayed before 2 years of age (ES, early spaying), and 243 (41%) after 2 years (LS, late spaying). During their lifetime, 79 dogs (13.2%) developed pyometra, and 160 (26.7%) a mammary tumor. Among the 293 dogs with complete follow-up, 103 (35.1%) had at least one MT during their lifetime, of which 53 (51.5%) died of their mammary cancer. Spayed (ES + LS) female dogs had a 4-fold decreased risk of dying from mammary cancer (OR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.11–0.47, p < 0.0001) compared to intact females. In this low-sterilization rate population, MTs developed in 35.1% of female dogs over their lifetime and was the cause of death in half of them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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7 pages, 4036 KiB  
Case Report
Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma Associated with Previous Chronic Osteomyelitis Caused by Serratia liquefaciens in a German Shepherd Dog
by Delia Franchini, Serena Paci, Stefano Ciccarelli, Carmela Valastro, Grazia Greco and Antonio Di Bello
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(3), 96; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci9030096 - 22 Feb 2022
Viewed by 3769
Abstract
Development of bone tumors as a result of chronic osteomyelitis represents a relatively rare and late complication in humans and animals. We described a malignant transformation (chondroblastic osteosarcoma) in a 7-year-old German shepherd with a history of polyostotic osteomyelitis caused by Serratia liquefaciens [...] Read more.
Development of bone tumors as a result of chronic osteomyelitis represents a relatively rare and late complication in humans and animals. We described a malignant transformation (chondroblastic osteosarcoma) in a 7-year-old German shepherd with a history of polyostotic osteomyelitis caused by Serratia liquefaciens when the dog was 15 months old. The tumor developed in the right humeral diaphysis, one of the sites of polyostotic osteomyelitis. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of polyostotic osteomyelitis caused by Serratia liquefaciens in dogs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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8 pages, 1931 KiB  
Case Report
Immunophenotyping of an Unusual Mixed-Type Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma in a Dog
by Hyo-Sung Kim, Han-Jun Kim, Hyun-Jeong Hwang, Jong-Hyun Ahn and Sun-Hee Do
Vet. Sci. 2021, 8(12), 307; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/vetsci8120307 - 06 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5189
Abstract
A 6-year-old female Maltese dog presented with a cervical mass without pain. The tumor was surrounded by a thick fibrous tissue and consisted of an osteoid matrix with osteoblasts and two distinct areas: a mesenchymal cell-rich lesion with numerous multinucleated giant cells and [...] Read more.
A 6-year-old female Maltese dog presented with a cervical mass without pain. The tumor was surrounded by a thick fibrous tissue and consisted of an osteoid matrix with osteoblasts and two distinct areas: a mesenchymal cell-rich lesion with numerous multinucleated giant cells and a chondroid matrix-rich lesion. The tumor cells exhibited heterogeneous protein expression, including a positive expression of vimentin, cytokeratin, RANKL, CRLR, SOX9, and collagen 2, and was diagnosed as extraskeletal osteosarcoma. Despite its malignancy, the dog showed no sign of recurrence or metastasis three months after the resection. Further analysis of the tumor cells revealed a high expression of proliferation- and metastasis-related biomarkers in the absence of angiogenesis-related biomarkers, suggesting that the lack of angiogenesis and the elevated tumor-associated fibrosis resulted in a hypoxic tumor microenvironment and prevented metastasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tumors in Pets: New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools)
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