Can oral melanoma in dogs be cured?
The good news: oral melanoma can be treated. The bad news: complete removal of the cancer is difficult and many times part of the dog’s jaw has to be removed. Tumor recurrence and metastasis is common with malignant oral tumors.
Is oral melanoma painful in dogs?
These tumors may look small from the outside but extend deeper into the tissues than expected, invading the underlying bone. Alternately, the bone may be affected first causing significant oral swelling. Oral pain is usually apparent, especially in dogs with tumors that have penetrated the underlying bone.
What is the treatment for oral melanoma?
Wide excision is the treatment of choice. Oral melanoma is complicated in that detection does not usually occur until the lesion is advanced. Overall 5-year survival is low, which highlights the need for aggressive treatment and continued follow-up afterward.
How long will my dog live with malignant melanoma?
Overall, dogs diagnosed with malignant melanoma and treated with surgery alone experience survival times of 4-6 months following surgery. They eventually develop life-limiting metastatic disease to the local lymph nodes and/or lungs.
What does canine oral melanoma look like?
Melanoma tumors can be pigmented (black) or non-pigmented (pink/flesh colored). Dogs can show increased salivation/drooling, difficulty eating/drinking, drop their food or chew on only one side of their mouth. They may show facial swelling and/or have a foul odor to their breath.
Can canine oral melanoma be benign?
Unlike in humans, the majority of skin melanomas are benign in dogs, however oral and digit/nail bed melanomas tend to be malignant, with the potential to locally invade tissues and underlying bone, as well as spread to other parts of the body.
Can you have melanoma in mouth?
In the oral cavity, malignant melanoma almost exclusively occurs in the palate and maxillary gingiva with an incidence of 80% and 91.4%, respectively. [18,19] There are very few reported cases of malignant melanoma on the mandibular gingiva.
How long does it take melanoma to spread?
Melanoma can grow very quickly. It can become life-threatening in as little as six weeks and, if untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma can appear on skin not normally exposed to the sun. Nodular melanoma is a highly dangerous form of melanoma that looks different from common melanomas.
Can malignant melanoma be cured in dogs?
Dogs treated with surgery alone to remove a malignant melanoma, even if the surgical removal is complete, typically develop metastatic disease within 5-6 months of surgery. Only about 10% of dogs will survive more than a year with surgery alone as treatment.