You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Severe hypoglycemia as part of the paraneoplastic syndrome is usually associated with insulinoma (cancer of the pancreatic islet cells producing excess insulin). However, it can also be associated with leiomyoma or leiomyosarcoma.

The mechanism by which tumours other than insulinoma cause hypoglycemia is not known. 

In one report (Bagley R.S. et al ACVIM Proceedings 1994) 6 dogs with large intra-abdominal tumours (leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas) presented with the classical signs of hypoglycemia :

• Polydipsia
• Polyuria
• Weakness/collapse
• Seizures
• Salivation
• Tremor
• Ataxia/staggering

All the dogs had hypoglycemia (<32mg/dl) and insulin concentrations were low-normal or below normal. Following successful surgical removal of the tumours (in 4/6 dogs) the clinical signs and blood glucose concentrations returned to normal within 24 hours.

Last updated : January 2016