The most common type of cancers affecting the animal's nose are

carcinomas Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesoderm ...

and

sarcomas A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcoma ...

, both of which are locally invasive. The most common sites for metastasis are the lymph nodes and the lungs, but can also include other organs.

Signs and symptoms

Signs vary but may include bleeding from the nose, nasal discharge, facial deformity from bone erosion and tumor growth, sneezing, or difficulty breathing.

Diagnosis

Standard X-rays are still acceptable and readily accessible imaging tools but their resolution and level of anatomical detail are not as good as for

computed tomography A computed tomography scan (CT scan; formerly called computed axial tomography scan or CAT scan) is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers ...

(CT) scan. In order to definitively confirm cancer in the nasal cavity, a tissue biopsy should be obtained.

Treatment

Radiation therapy has become the preferred treatment. Its advantage is that it treats the entire nasal cavity together with the affected bone and has shown the greatest improvement in survival. The radiation therapy is typically delivered in 10-18 treatment sessions over the course of 2–4 weeks. Radiation therapy has a multitude of accompanying side effects and should be recommended on a case-by-case basis. Dogs in which nose bleeds are observed have an average life expectancy of 88 days. In instances where nosebleeds are not seen, the prognosis is slightly less grim. On average, a dog with nasal cancer has a life expectancy of 95 days.

References

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External links

Nasal Cavity Cancer in Cats and Dogs'' from Pet Cancer Center
* ttp://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/121611.htm&word=nasal%2ccavity%2ccancer ''Tumors of the Nose'' from Merck Veterinary Manual Cancer in dogs Cancer in cats Types of animal cancers