Intranasal tumors in dogs: diagnosis and treatment

Intranasal tumors are rare in dogs and occur mostly in middle-aged and old dogs. The malignant behavior of these tumors is reflected more by their tendency to invade local tissue than by a tendency to produce distant metastasis. Distant metastasis may, however, become more important as success in treatment of the initial lesion improves. The history and clinical signs (sneezing, nasal discharge, and facial deformity) of intranasal tumor in dogs often reflect intranasal disease but are usually nonspecific. Diagnostics should include at least the minimum data base, high-detail radiographs of the nasal cavity obtained while the dog is anesthetized, and biopsy of nasal cavity tissue. Radiotherapy with or without aggressive cytoreduction is the only treatment that significantly extends survival of these dogs. Ortho-voltage, megavoltage, or brachytherapy (implantation of (192)lridium) has been used