Lumpies and Bumpies

Skin tumors on dogs are very common; most of the time they are benign, but about 1/3 of them can be malignant (cancerous). Tumors can appear in many shapes and forms, and easily be confused with other benign masses that can arise on the skin of dogs too; such as insect bites, abscesses, granulomas, hematomas, cysts, and swelling. Some of the non-cancerous masses may require prompt veterinary treatment, such as abscesses or hematomas. So whenever you see a lump or bump on your dog, it's best to have it looked at by your veterinarian before waiting too long. Here's a couple of cases that are pretty interesting:

"Lucy" the Bassett Hound

The patient in the picture above, a bassett hound named "Lucy", presented to our clinic with a large tumor growing from the skin on top of her back. This tumor had obviously been allowed to grow to an exceptionally large mass before being presented for evaluation and treatment...the owner had been hesitant to have her anesthetized; however, the mass ruptured and began to drain, which prompted the visit and subsequent surgery. The sheer size of the tumor was impressive, as you can see, but was no real problem for surgery. The tumor was removed (see picture to right), the skin closed back together quite well, and "Lucy" had no further problems with it. The pathology report, from the submitted sample of this tumor, came back as a trichoepithelioma; which is basically a cystic hair follicle. Hard to believe a mass that large all started as one little tiny clogged up hair follicle.

"Trip" the Labrador Retriever

More recently, I saw one of my regular patients, "Trip", for what seemed to be a rather benign aging process. "Trip" was a very nice black Labrador that was well taken care of, and had been a patient of ours for a while. His owner brought him in with concerns that he may have had gingival hyperplasia, which was causing him to lick his gums frequently and be uncomfortable when eating. Gingival hyperplasia is typically a benign process of aging that is very common in some breeds (bulldogs especially); it's basically an overgrowth of gum tissue that can often appear to envelope or partially cover the teeth, and in many cases it really doesn't require any treatment. It did, in fact, appear to be gingival hyperplasia; however, I had concerns that it could also potentially be a more serious (possibly cancerous) process and mentioned that malignant melanoma was especially common in that area of the mouth and was a concern. "Trip's" owner agreed that we should definitely try to biopsy and de-bulk the gum tissue to give him comfort, and then send samples to the lab for analysis; we did and, unfortunately, the lab report stated that "Trip" had malignant melanoma and that his prognosis for survival was poor.

"Trip" was referred to Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine for an oncology consult; the specialists at MSU agreed that without radical excision of the soft palate and gum tissue (which would have resulted in terrible disfigurement to his face), along with radiation to the area, the prognosis for "Trip" was quite poor. "Trip's" owners and I agreed that it may be best for everyone, including "Trip", to choose a more conservative approach, using medications to keep him as comfortable as possible, and simply enjoy his company as best we can while he has some good days left. A radical surgery and extensive treatments such as those recommended for "Trip's" cancer would not only be quite expensive (approaching $10,000-$15,000), but also quite difficult for the patient, as well.

After "Trip's" initial diagnosis and subsequent biopsy procedure, his cancer continued to grow and spread at a phenomenal rate; in 3 week's time, it had already quadrupled in size and was spreading to his sinus cavity. By the fifth week, his owners could no longer stand to watch his cancer take over his body; he had become quite uncomfortable with his mouth, had difficulty eating and breathing through his nose and his condition was beginning to deteriorate. "Trip's" owners, at that time, decided that it was best to no longer allow him to suffer and elected for euthanasia. I agreed that it was the best decision.

"Trip" was no ordinary dog; his presence had been a comfort to his owners during a difficult time, and so his life had a very special meaning to them. "Trip" was a fun-loving, affectionate animal that will be sorely missed; his life had great meaning but despite being a little shortened by a terrible cancer, his life was a noble one.

So, as you can see, lumps and bumps aren't always what they seem...a large, oozing, and unsightly mass that turns out to be an overgrown cystic hair follicle, and a seemingly benign enlargement of gum tissue that started as somewhat of a nuisance became a horrible, unstoppable, deadly cancer.

In memory of "Trip".