Health Reports sent off

Good or bad, it's important for our breed to report the health of our dogs so that the breed can be taken forward. I've sent off a completed health questionaire to the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Breed Club and also to the new Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Health website. I've also emailed Grey's breeder, Sandra Rowbury from Stormdancer.

Grey's Histology Report

                                                             
Here is Grey's histology report. The difficulty we have in comparing them to other MCTs is that most of the comparable data is for dermal MCTs. Grey's was subcutaneous within the tissue.  

I've been invited to join a weim group on Facebook where there is more experience of dealing with MCTs. So far have only heard of Grey as the Slovak with this condition.

He's on fine form. Being very well behaved at home without being offlead for over a week.                                                                   
                                             
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      ASG  : 4.7mth m SlovRHairPoint    
      Report Date  : 04/12/12  
      Request Date  : 30/11/12  


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Histology
Diagnosis        Mast Cell Tumour
Prognosis        Fair but possible recurrence, requiring attention.

Mass caudal right shoulder -
Breed: Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer (SRHP)

1 sample received; 3 sections examined
Adipose tissue: Expanding the subcutaneous fat tissue is a
neoplasm composed of loosely arranged sheets and cords of
neoplastic mast cells. Neoplastic cells are round, with distinct
cell borders and moderate amounts of pale amphophilic
cytoplasm with fine granulation. Nuclei are round and centrally
located, with finely stippled chromatin and small or
inconspicuous nucleoli. Mitoses are rarely observed, averaging
less than 1 per 10/400x fields, and there is minimal cellular
atypia. Larger numbers of eosinophils are scattered throughout
the neoplasm. The center of the sample is cystic. The neoplasm
appears to have been completely excised in the section
examined.

COMMENT:
This is a subcutaneous mast cell tumour. A recent study
suggests that most subcutaneous mast cell tumours are cured
surgically with a low incidence of recurrence and lymph node
metastasis. There is a more favourable prognosis for mast cell
tumours such as this that have a low mitotic index with only
minor invasive growth. Please note that the grading schemes
used for dermal mast cell tumours have not been validated for
subcutaneous mast cell tumours like the one present here.
However, if this mast cell tumour was present in the dermis,
then it would be compatible with an intermediate grade (Grade
II) neoplasm.

Animal Health Trust are conducting research into Mast Cell Tumours MCT

The Animal Health Tust are conducting research into Canine mast cell tumours. I would like the Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer community to participate in this research. Grey was referred to the AHT in 2010 to neurology regarding his acute pain attack. 
http://www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/science_oncolres.html

Using molecular genetics to help predict whether canine mast cell tumours will metastasiseMast cell tumours (MCTs) are the most common skin tumour in dogs, and display variable behaviour. MCTs are classified by histological grade, with the majority categorised as intermediate grade. Intermediate grading does not accurately predict how an individual MCT will behave. A study at the AHT demonstrated that frequency of expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67 was a more accurate predictor of survival, but a subset of MCTs did not behave as predicted, and a less subjective prognostic method is desirable. For human cancers, gene expression ‘signatures’ are predictive of metastatic outcome. Identification of genes most likely to stratify MCTs according to whether they metastasise is the first step towards developing an assay that will accurately predict whether a MCT will metastasise, and therefore whether a patient would benefit from chemotherapy.In this study, a whole genome microarray will be used to screen RNA from biopsies of 15 MCTs to identify genes that exhibit differential expression between tumours that metastasised and tumours that did not. Since clinically-relevant mRNA profiling-based tumour classification is possible using fine needle tissue aspirates (FNAs), expression profiles will be generated for FNAs of 3 of the MCTs to investigate whether they are representative of the tumours.How vets can help our researchIdentification of the inherited gene mutations responsible for the susceptibility of Boxers, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Weimaraners to developing mast cell tumoursCertain breeds of dog are much more likely to develop cancer than other breeds, with some families within these breeds being particularly susceptible. A study in 2004 of the incidence of mast cell tumours in dogs diagnosed at the AHT between 1997 and 1999 identified a high prevalence in Boxers, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Weimaraners. The inherited susceptibility probably results from the combined effects of many modified genes, each of which alone, confers a low to moderate increase in risk. The risk of developing a cancer is thought to increase according to the number of altered genes carried.We are seeking to identify the genes that, when mutated, are associated with the increased risk of the four breeds developing mast cell tumours. As these breeds develop these tumours more often than other breeds, the gene mutations that confer the increased risk will be more common than in other breeds, and thus easier to identify. Future work would aim to investigate whether the same gene mutations conferred susceptibility to developing this cancer upon other breeds.In the long term, it is hoped that the research will lead to the development of tests to identify dogs that carry the gene mutations conferring an increased risk. This information will be useful to vets as it will identify dogs who may benefit from careful monitoring for early detection of cancer, and thereby early treatment. These tests will also assist breeders to reduce the incidence of dogs affected with these cancers. The research will also increase understanding of how these tumours develop, ultimately assisting the development of new therapies.How pet owners/breeders can help our research How vets can help our research

The C word - Grade 2 MCT (Mast Cell Tumour)

Oh buggeration. If the number of past serious conditions in one dog would enable us to be able to cash in our chips to avoid a future bad result, we'd be in. But nope. Grey's vet called today with his results. Unfortunately at four and a half years old, we've now added the dreaded cancer word to our vocabulary. But as many dear friends have been quick to point out Mast Cell Tumours (MCTs) are really common in dogs. I've not had time or inclination yet to delve into the depths of Google to find out our chances of this being hopefully the first of few lumps to have to remove and consequently many happy years ahead of us, or this being an agressive bugger of a thing that might get the hold of him.

MCTs are a form of skin cancer. Normally the tumours are subcutaneous. In Grey's case the tumour was in the tissue, which our vet said was unusual. They confirmed they were able to completely get all of it out. Which is good.

Grade 2 MCTs are a bit of a hard one to tackle. They're above the lowest risk which would be a Grade 1. But they're the equivalent of fence sitting in terms of estimating where on the scale they fit between the 1 the lowest and 3 the highest. Grade 3s have a very poor prognosis.

My friend Jo has blogged about the ins and outs of Grade 2 MCTs over on the excellent Galody blog after her bitch Slate was diagnosed with one last year. It seems we really need to know more about the mitotic index and the Ki-67 tests. This will tell us much more what we're facing and what our chances are. I'm very grateful Jo has done this research and published it. Not sure I'd be as able.

As soon as we get the vet report in we'll be sending off a health report to both the Breed Club and http://www.srhphealth.org/ With such a young breed (I believe most Slovaks are under the age of five in the UK?) it's important that we get as much information as possible collated for the breed as a whole.

For the moment, we'll have to embark on training to desensitise Grey to future needle aspiration at the vets for any future suspect lumps that are likely to appear. Unlike Jo's dog Slate, Grey gets very stressed at the vets and won't allow for sample taking. This reminds me of this excellent footage as inspiration from Denver City Zoo. 



And of course Kathy Sadao's excellent advice on spending as much time training general husbandry as tricks. Everything you ask a dog to do is really a trick.

For now, Grey is happy. Blissfully unaware that anything has changed. He's fit, healthy and insured. Of course I'm worried and really don't want to think about anything happening to my best boy.