Influence of age and breed of dogs on tumour development

Abstract

The increase in the number of dogs as pets poses the challenge for veterinary specialists to find new approaches to prevent their morbidity and early mortality. Age and breed are considered to be the main risk criteria for the formation of tumours in dogs, so the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of these and a number of other factors on the susceptibility to cancer in this species. The research was based on the analysis of a single database of veterinary clinics in Bishkek, which includes 328 confirmed cases of cancer in dogs. The most common breeds were German (n=48) and Central Asian Shepherds (n=23), Rottweilers (n=18), Dachshunds (n=18), Poodles (n=17), Shar Pei (n=14), Pekingese (n=14), and a group of outbred dogs (n=70). Benign neoplasms were recorded in 140 cases, accounting for 54.3% of the total number of tumours in pure-bred dogs. Benign tumours predominated in large breed dogs (n=75), or 53.6% of the total number of benign tumours, and the highest growth of malignant tumours was detected in small breed dogs (59%) (n=29). Dogs, regardless of breed, were more vulnerable to tumour formation between the ages of 6 and 12 years. The database analysis revealed that females were more likely to develop cancer than males, with mammary tumours being the main diagnosis in females (36.3%). Small dog breeds had a higher risk of developing mammary tumours than large dogs. The obtained results revealed breed-specific features of the manifestation of morphological types of tumours in dogs and made it possible to determine the critical periods of their formation