Osteosarcoma in Dogs

Bogart is a 10 year old Bouvier des Flanders dog who had a lameness in his front right leg. He had been getting progressively more sore over the preceding month, showing signs at home of being less active, not wanting to get in and out of the car, and whining when he was laying down. When we examined Bogart he had an obvious lameness of his front right leg. He was experiencing pain when his distal leg was palpated and his range of motion in his carpal joint was reduced. An x-ray was taken of Bogart’s front limb and it showed changes in the bone that were very suggestive of bone cancer. A starburst appearance and lysis of the bone was obvious. Due to the degree of bone lysis there was a concern that the bone may have broken just from Bogart walking.

An emergency referral appointment was made for Bogart at the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island where Bogart could be screened for signs of bone cancer spread and surgical options could be discussed. While at AVC biopsies were obtained from the diseased bone, from a suspicious area on his spleen and he had chest and abdominal scans preformed. The biopsy of the bone tumor gave a diagnosis of osteosarcoma but there were no signs that the tumor had spread to other areas of his body. After discussion with the surgeons at the college Bogart’s owners elected to proceed with limb amputation surgery and follow up with chemotherapy. Bogart’s biopsy samples were sent to the oncology department at the University of Guelph Veterinary Hospital where a chemotherapy protocol using the drug Carboplatin was recommended.

Bogart returned home and was walking comfortably within days of his amputation surgery. His chemotherapy began the week after his surgery and is continuing for a total of 16 weeks.

Bogart continues to do very well, he is active, moving comfortably and is back to his usual happy self. His owners naturally questioned how far to go with Bogart’s treatment but he has done so well through his surgery and his chemotherapy that his owners feel they made the right choice for him. The long term prognosis for Bogart is not great but he and his owners are enjoying all their quality time together.

If you have any questions about cancers in dogs, please do not hesitate to contact the PetFocus Westwood Hills Veterinary Hospital team. We are always here to help!