Mast Cell Tumor Essay

Mast cell tumors are the most common skin tumor found in dogs (The National Canine Cancer Foundation). According to the ASPCA Complete Guide to dogs mast cell tumors are, “solitary masses on the surface of the skin and in the tissue immediately under the skin” (Gerstenfeld and Schultz, p. 431). Essentially if a dog has a mast cell tumor, then that dog has cancer. There are three types grades for these tumors. The first grade is when it occurs in the skin, is non-malignant and do not spread. The second grade is when it is below the skin, is malignancy, and treatment is unpredictable. Finally, the third grade is when it is deep below the skin, requires extensive treatment, and is very aggressive (The National Canine Cancer Foundation). This disease has been going on for many years. In fact, according to Dennis W. Macy’s journal Canine Mast Cell Tumors the first mast was described in 1905 by Bashford and his colleagues (p. 783). It is said that the mast cell tumor is the second most common tumor in dogs (Macy, p. 783). Also according to
For instance, these dogs can possible have a loss of appetite, diarrhea, black tarry stool, and vomiting (Gerstenfeld and Schultz, p. 431). Other symptoms include, loss of hair, tissue may be inflamed, anorexia, and it might consist of some abnormalities (The National Canine Cancer Foundation). According to petMD other symptoms are itchiness, rapid growth on the tumor, enlarged liver or spleen. Really when it comes to the symptom it all depends on what stage the tumor is in. There are four stages to the mast cell tumor. The first stage is when it is just one tumor without any progress or development. The second stage involves just one tumor with development in the surrounding lymph nodes. The third stage is having multiple tumors or a very large one under the skin. Finally, the fourth stage is having a tumor with development to an organ or wide spread in the blood