Canine Haemangiosarcoma Symptoms and Treatments

Canine Haemangiosarcoma is an aggressively malignant tumour which usually affects the endoepithelial (inside) layers of blood vessels spleen and heart and affects mainly middle aged and elderly dogs. Since it grows undetected, by the time the condition has been diagnosed it is often too late to do anything to save the life of the dog, although there have been very rare exceptions. There appear to be no triggering factors for this particular condition.

There is a form of haemangiosarcoma which grows in the skin, a cutaneous haemangiosarcoma, and if this occurs the prognosis is much better than it might be for haemangiosarcoma elsewhere. These can be excised and if the cells have not spread down to subcutaneous tissue or muscle layers and the excision is extensive enough to leave a wide border, it is possible that the patient will make a full recovery.

The first few signs and symptoms that the dog is ill is unexplained bleeding from the nose or in the stools, together with a growing lethargy, anaemia, an unusual weight gain, and depression. Unfortunately the aggressive nature of this tumour can mean that the life of the dog may not extend past a few weeks and on occasion can simply die with no warning.

Particularly in the case of splenic tumours these can grow to a large size and can be felt through the abdominal wall upon palpation. However in other areas it is virtually impossible to detect and may not even show up on X-ray, and if the tumour has proliferated in the form of large numbers of small malignant growths there is usually nothing else that can be done. Diagnosis is then confirmed on autopsy.

Veterinary opinion seems to be that there is no effective treatment for this condition even if it is caught in the early stages

The best that can be done is offer palliative care during the rest of the dog's time, by giving careful attention to his diet and changing his meals to small and often if his appetite has been compromised. He needs careful grooming, which will make sure of two things - that he continues to be well cared for and that he gets frequent, warm interaction from his owner. This will help to lift his depression even for short periods of time and his quality of life needs to be the best it can during this period.

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