Prognostic factors and survival following radiation therapy for canine nasal tumors: A single-institution retrospective study of 166 cases

Abstract

Background: Prognostic factors in dogs with nasal tumors include several variables. However, factors that can measure prognosis have not yet been identified due to considerable divergence among reports. Aim: To describe the computed tomography (CT) imaging, treatment, and outcomes of dogs with nasal tumors, as well as detect negative prognostic factors through the analysis of a substantial number of cases from a single institution. Furthermore, based on CT findings, this study aimed to identify independent prognostic factors for nasal tumors in dogs. Methods: A total of 166 client-owned dogs were diagnosed with nasal tumors at Gifu University Veterinary Hospital between 2015 and 2019. Data were retrospectively collected from the electronic medical records. Results: Univariate analysis revealed a significant difference in survival time between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in 166 canine nasal tumors treated with megavoltage radiation therapy at a single institution (p= .015). There was a significant difference in survival time between carcinoma and sarcoma (p= .04). Regarding CT imaging findings, significant differences in survival time were observed for frontal sinus invasion (p= .007), cribriform plate destruction (p< .001), and lymph node metastasis (p= .003). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to assess frontal sinus invasion, cribriform plate destruction, histopathologic subtypes, and lymph node metastasis as negative prognostic factors; however, only cribriform plate destruction was a significant negative prognostic factor for survival time (p= .004). Conclusion: Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that cribriform plate destruction was the main factor in predicting a negative prognosis among 166 canine nasal tumors treated with megavoltage radiation therapy at a single institution. Therefore, we propose a new 2-tier staging classification for canine nasal tumors with the presence or absence of cribriform plate destruction based on CT examination as the only evaluation factor.