Effectiveness of Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Meningioma in a Dog: Case Report. Clínica Veterinaria Dover in Bogota, Colombia
Introduction
The brain tumors are of low presentation in dogs (14.5/100,000); the meningioma is the one with the higher presentation. The treatment options are radiotherapy, surgery and/or chemotherapy. When surgical excision is not an option, radiotherapy is considered the treatment of choice.
Objective
Establish the efficacy of the antitumor treatment with radiotherapy for a meningioma.
Methodology
A 9.5-year-old, neutered male Golden Retriever was referred to the clinic for generalized tonic-clonic seizures. An MRI was made and the dog was diagnosed with a supratentorial lesion, extra-axial, that captured paramagnetic gadolinium contrast agent, with necrotic center and wide base compatible with meningioma. He received 10 radiotherapy sessions every 48 hours (4 Gy in each one = 40 Gy) and a dose of a corticosteroid (prednisone 0.5 mg/kg/12 hours) between sessions as an antitumor treatment.
Results
Five months after the last radiotherapy session, the tumor had decreased in rump length 27.45 to 16.17 mm (41%), mediolateral of 17.58 to 7.73 mm (56%) and dorsoventral of 29.91 to 17.84 mm (40%), and the clinical signs had disappeared, maintaining a stable condition receiving phenobarbital (3 mg/kg/BID). Nevertheless, after 18 months, the clinical signs reappeared, and with another MRI it was confirmed that the lesion relapsed.
Conclusion
Currently the patient has a life expectancy of 10 months, above average time (8 months) for this type of injury treated with radiotherapy.