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A deadly silent killer in dogs: Do you know why hemangiosarcoma is so hard to detect?
Angiosarcoma is a fast-growing, highly aggressive cancer that occurs almost exclusively in dogs and is extremely rare in cats, horses, mice or humans. This cancer originates from the lining of blood vessels, which are usually seen under a microscope as blood-filled channels and spaces. One of the causes of its fatality is tumor rupture, resulting in devastating bleeding. Although the term "angiosarcoma" is often used without qualification, there are actually several other related cancer types.
Prevalence of Angiosarcoma in Dogs
Angiosarcoma is particularly common in dogs, and certain breeds, such as German shepherds and golden retrievers, are at a higher risk. Cats, by contrast, are much less frequently diagnosed with this disease. Often, owners discover their dog has angiosarcoma when the dog suddenly collapses. The most common sites of this tumor are the spleen, right heart base, or liver, but it can also occur in the skin or other sites.
This is the most common cardiac tumor and usually arises in the right atrium or right atrial appendage, which can lead to right-sided heart failure, arrhythmias, pericardial effusion, and cardiac tamponade.
Clinical features and symptoms
Clinical signs in dogs are often related to the tumor's location of origin or metastasis. Most patients experience acute collapse due to a sudden rupture of the primary tumor or its metastases. Common clinical symptoms include loss of appetite, arrhythmia, weight loss, weakness, drowsiness and anemia, and may even lead to sudden death.
Spayed female dogs have a five-fold increased risk of developing cardiac angiosarcoma compared with intact female dogs, according to a retrospective study, although the validity of this finding is controversial.
Diagnostic Methods
A biopsy and histological examination are usually required to confirm the diagnosis of angiosarcoma; the results of fine-needle aspiration examination are often inconclusive. Surgical biopsy is the typical diagnostic approach in veterinary medicine due to frequent blood contamination and poor cell shedding. Imaging examinations including ultrasound, CT, and MRI are helpful in detecting lesions.
Treatment Options
Treatment of angiosarcoma includes chemotherapy and, when possible, removal of the tumor and affected organs, such as splenectomy. The average survival with splenectomy alone is 1 to 3 months, but it may be prolonged when combined with chemotherapy. Recent studies have also found that extracts from certain mushrooms have a positive effect on some dogs. Still, some studies suggest it’s not as effective as hoped.
Although there have been some therapeutic advances, vaccines and immunotherapies for angiosarcoma are still under development and await further validation and popularization.
Why couldn’t it be discovered early?
The insidious nature of angiosarcoma makes it extremely difficult to diagnose at its early stages. Many dogs will not even show noticeable symptoms until the tumor is large enough to become life-threatening. This reflects the need for owners to pay more attention to improving their dogs' health and the necessity of seeking medical treatment early.
In the future, how to better identify and treat this invisible killer is a question worth pondering.
