Cardiac Cancer in Dogs

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.

Cardiac tumours were found to be present in 1382 dogs out of a population 729,265 dogs  (an incidence rate of 0.19%) in a Medical Veterinary Database search covering the period from 1982-1995. 

In this retrospective review the following interesting facts emerged :

1. Primary heart tumours were more common than secondary tumours.

2. Haemangiosarcoma was the most common form of cancer with 10 times the number of aortic body tumours (the second most common form)

3. Most cardiac tumours were classified as malignant

4. In dogs the tumours (except for lymphomas) occurred most frequently in dogs between 7 and 15 years of age. Interestingly, above 15 years of age the incidence of cardiac neoplasia was similar to that of dogs in  the youngest age group.

5. Males and females developed cardiac tumours in almost equal numbers, but neutering increased the risk for both sexes. Neutered females had more than a 4 times greater risk of developing cardiac cancer than non-neutered bitches, and for haemangiosarcoma this increased to more than 5 times the risk. The risk was slightly greater for castrated males than for entire males. Entire female dogs were least likely to develop cardiac neoplasia, however neutered females were most likely to develop cardiac neoplasia.

Reference

Ware W.A., Hopper D.L. (1999) Cardiac tumours in dogs 1982-1995. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine Vol 13 : p95-103

Updated January 2016