34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

Pulmonary carcinoma in dogs is commonly managed by surgical resection; however, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for grade II and III carcinomas remains undetermined. This study compared the survival outcomes of dogs with grade II and III pulmonary carcinoma treated by surgical resection and postoperative adjuvant vinorelbine to those treated surgically without the adjuvant.

Methods:

This multicentre retrospective study evaluated 56 dogs with histologically confirmed grade II and III pulmonary carcinoma. Thirty-six dogs were treated with adjuvant vinorelbine postoperatively, and 20 were managed with surgical resection alone. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to assess survival outcomes.

Results:

Univariable analysis showed that vinorelbine (HR, 0.31; P<0.001), clinical signs (HR, 1.93; P=0.03), tumour grade (HR, 8.25; P<0.001), resection margins (HR, 4.29; P=0.01), lymph node involvement (HR, 1.97; P=0.02), and comorbidities (HR, 0.42; P=0.004) were associated with survival. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that vinorelbine (HR, 0.08; P<0.001), tumour grade (HR, 40.4; P<0.001), and comorbidities (HR, 0.34; P<0.001) were predictors of survival. The median survival time of dogs treated with adjuvant vinorelbine (331 days) was longer than that of dogs treated by surgery alone (124 days; P<0.001).

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that adjuvant vinorelbine improves survival outcomes in dogs with grade II and III pulmonary carcinoma following surgical resection.