Rottie - cancer of Ulna

[SuperVM]

I'm on holiday in the US, so I probably don't have the full details, but my step dad's Rottie, Bruno, has been diagnosed with cancer of his left front ulna. More detail from my stepdad below:

"It started the Sunday before last when I came back to the house with a load of logs on a trailer. Bruno wanted to come with me when I left to take the trailer back but there were a few more logs to collect and I was going to put them in the back of the estate so no room for Bruno. While we were away he got out and was found wandering around the village by some one who took him back to Dianne. She texted me and said that he was OK but limping. I thought he had strained or sprained his paw somehow during his escape and so did the vet at first. When it was not getting much better even though he was on anti-inflammatory tablets (left over from his last cruciate op.) we took him back on Monday and then in for an X-ray today which revealed the growth on the end of the ulna of his left front leg. Only real option would be amputation of the leg but because he is a large dog and because of the history with his cruciates the vet thought this would cause more distress and induce problems with the other legs and joints. Chemo and radio therapy not known to have much, if any, success with this type of cancer and the fitting of a false leg would be expensive (thousands) and with no guarantee as the cancer is most likely to spread, if it hasn't done so already. They did take a chest x-ray as the lungs are the most likely place for any further tumours to appear but that is clear at the moment.
Vets advice is to leave him, use pain killers as and when and to spoil him."

I have found this link, which indicates that a surgery to replace the affected bone may be possible:

http://www.bonecancerdogs.org/main/document/106

Has anyone had any experience with this sort of surgery? Bruno is six years old and has had both of his cruciates replaced, it would seem his legs are quite fragile. We only lost my mum to cancer a year ago, so Bruno is a companion my step dad dearly loves and can ill afford to lose. Any help or a point in the right direction would be dearly appreciated.

Edited by SuperVM on Wednesday 21st September 17:18

[bexVN]

Rotti's are really prone to this, usually osteosarcoma.

It used to be amputation was a possibility but more for pain relief than cure as it spreads quickly, Front leg not good for this anyway esp on a heavy type breed that has had cruciate surgery.

If pain relief used eventually the leg will swell a lot and the bone will break, try and make sure a decision is made before this happens.

I think chemo is being used more and more to try and slow the progress down, dogs don't often suffer the side effects that humans do and it can be done by their usual vets (ie doesn't have to be a vet referral though some chemo drugs are better used in specialised places) I don't think bone replacement is really done here esp as there is a probability of it having spread past the ulna already.

It's not easy to decide what to do and I'm sorry your family are faced with this, the most important thing whichever route is quality of life and pain management.

Below is a link to a uk page re: tx and prognosis. To look up for advice/ info look up treatment for Osteosarcoma in dogs and make sure it is relevant to the country the dog lives in (which I'm assuming is the UK)

http://midlandrottweilerclub.co.uk/#/osteosarcoma/...

Edited by bexVN on Wednesday 21st September 19:00

[gd49]

Limb sparing surgery is an experimental technique to remove the cancerous tumour without amputating the leg. It's not curative, but ideally leaves the dog with a painfree leg. You'd need to see a specialist, with lots of investigations to ensure the dog's suitable and because it's experimental, there's a fairly high risk of complications.

Chemo is not a commitent to be undertaken lightly - it'll involve weekly visits to the vets and some of the complications, whilst rare, can be very nasty. If the leg continues to be painful despite pain relief and chemotherapy there's little point in continuing. Depending on Bruno's temperament it may be a non-starter.

Going for limb-sparing, if suitable, will be very expensive - thousands -, chemo will be hundreds at least. It's important to understand that whatever you do you'll be lucky to get 12 months survival.

[Silent1]

Is the dog insured? If it was me I'd be looking at everything to help the dog be pain free regardless of cost or insurance but judging by the line in the email about it being expensive I'm guessing either he's not or he's on a supermarket policy that covers not a lot.

[Jasandjules]

I would suggest however that I have been informed by a few vets that dogs undertake Chemo far, far better than humans.

I wish the doggie well with whatever treatment plan you go with.

[bexVN]

They do. If a dog doesn't we know quite quickly. It does also depend on how the dog deals with weekly vet visits and regular blood tests. I would definitely consider it if it were my dog.

[SuperVM]

Thanks for all the replies. The vet seemed to think chemo wouldn't work particularly well, but perhaps it is worth a shot. Surprisingly, Bruno loves the vet and is even known to jump up on the counter at the entrance and give the receptionist a big sloppy kiss. I think he would be fine with regular vet trips. I'll see what my stepdad has to say. He and Bruno are based near Lincoln by the way.

[bexVN]

SuperVM said:

Thanks for all the replies. The vet seemed to think chemo wouldn't work particularly well, but perhaps it is worth a shot. Surprisingly, Bruno loves the vet and is even known to jump up on the counter at the entrance and give the receptionist a big sloppy kiss. I think he would be fine with regular vet trips. I'll see what my stepdad has to say. He and Bruno are based near Lincoln by the way.

Your vets may need to update their info on Osteosarc. As it used to be the norm to say it wasn't worth doing chemo.
However results are showing if caught early it can extend lifespan from 3 months upto 12 months, not great statistics I know but if he can cope with the chemo regime ok definitely worth considering.

It is an aggressive cancer though and if quite established and likely to have already spread the stats worsen. Sounds like attitude wise Bruno would cope fine (one of my favourite breeds as once you've earned their trust they are loyal - I'm talking from a work point of view )

[SuperVM]

Thanks for all the replies. The vet seemed to think chemo wouldn't work particularly well, but perhaps it is worth a shot. Surprisingly, Bruno loves the vet and is even known to jump up on the counter at the entrance and give the receptionist a big sloppy kiss. I think he would be fine with regular vet trips. I'll see what my stepdad has to say. He and Bruno are based near Lincoln by the way.