Nearly 40 Percent Of Animals Treated Through UF Veterinary Internal

March 11, 1999

GAINESVILLE — With veterinary care better than ever, the good news is our pets are living longer.

The bad news is, as pets age, they, like humans, are prone to develop serious health problems, such as cancer.

While experts in the veterinary profession note the absence of reliable data about the incidence of cancer in the 1990s — and the difficulty of obtaining such information — they acknowledge that awareness of cancer in companion animals is increasing.

“The number of companion animals we see and treat with cancer, as well as our ability to detect and treat the disease, definitely has increased in the past two decades,” said Leslie Fox, an associate professor of small animal medicine and an oncologist who heads up the chemotherapy program at the University of Florida’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

About 40 percent of all UF’s internal medicine animal patients are afflicted with some form of cancer.

“The whole problem of knowing precise epidemiologic data in small animal medicine is a huge one,” said Robert Rosenthal, head of medicine at Veterinary Specialists of Rochester, N.Y., and corresponding secretary for the Veterinary Cancer Society. “It’s very hard to generalize, as different practices see different problems.”

A 1997 Morris Animal Foundation survey indicated that cancer is the No. 1 killer of dogs and cats, as well as the No. 1 concern of pet owners.

The results were based on responses from 2,003 readers of the foundation’s publication Companion Animal News and were corroborated by a study from the 1980s that determined the cause of death in more than 2,000 dogs. In this study, 45 percent of the dogs that lived 10 years or longer died of cancer.

“At UF, which is a highly specialized referral center, lymphomas, or cancer of the lymph nodes, are the type of cancer we treat most commonly,” Fox said. “Animals 6 years or older are most often affected.”

Other common types of cancer seen and treated at UF include oral, skin and bone tumors.

“One of the biggest improvements in cancer detection today is due to advances in imagery, such as ultrasound, MRI and computed tomography — imaging techniques that allow us to detect tumors inside the body that standard X-ray films do not,” Fox said. “Advancements in cancer treatment parallel those made in human medicine, as we treat companion animals similarly.”

Horses and ferrets, as well as dogs and cats, receive chemotherapy at UF, Fox said.

Because chemotherapy in animals differs in key respects from that used in humans, the treatment is commonly misunderstood, veterinarians say.

“Unfortunately, there are few cures with chemotherapy in veterinary medicine,” Fox said. “Chemotherapy is really best for treating cancers that are very small. Large tumors are treated most effectively with surgery or radiation therapy.”

On the other hand, animals that receive chemotherapy don’t suffer the common side effects experienced by most people who undergo the treatment: They experience little to no hair loss and nausea or vomiting, because the drug dosages are lower than those used to treat humans.

Currently, UF’s animal oncology practice is limited to surgery to remove cancerous growths and chemotherapy to treat lymphomas and metabolic disease.

“Our hope is that in the next three years we will be able to offer radiation therapy as well,” Fox said.

Friday is “chemo day” at UF’s veterinary hospital.

While there are other chemotherapy clinics throughout the state, particularly in South Florida, UF’s clinic is unique in part because of a Pets With Cancer support group consisting of new and longtime clients who have bonded over time.

The group celebrates important dates, including holidays, birthdays and treatment anniversaries. Approximately 10 clients can be found at UF’s chemotherapy clinic with their animals on any given Friday.

“We now have around 40 pets who are receiving treatment through the clinic, though their schedules vary,” Fox said.