Bladder Cancer in Dogs

Cancer of different parts of urinary tract is present in the dogs but urinary bladder cancer is common of all. Although urinary bladder cancer accounts for almost 1% of all the cancers in the dogs but from the past 10 years increase in rate of urinary bladder cancer in dogs has reached to 200%. The commonest of all the urinary bladder cancers in dogs is Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) which occurs mostly in the trigone area of the urinary bladder where ureters dump all the urine so due to this transitional cell carcinoma the flow of urine from the ureters to the urinary bladder may be hindered. It can metastasise to the other organs of the body like lungs or liver causing cancer in that area. Prognosis of transitional cell carcinoma is poor because it is often diagnosed in the advanced stage.

·         Causes and risk factors:


The exact cause of the bladder cancer in dogs is not yet identified but there are some factors which are discussed here. Urinary bladder cancer is thought to be genetic in the dogs or it may be developed from exposure to some harmful materials like herbicides, smoke and pesticides. Other environmental factors like lawn chemicals, aromatic hydrocarbons and shampoo may also be a cause of urinary bladder cancer. You can learn more about bladder cancer survival rate.

Female dogs are more prone to develop urinary bladder cancer than that of male dogs. It can be explained by this theory that female dogs urinate less frequently than male dogs ad those chemicals which causes cancer stay for long period in bladder of female dogs that increases the risk of urinary bladder cancer in female dogs. Female dogs are usually fatter than male dogs and the carcinogens are normally stored in the fats so this also can be a reason.

·         Symptoms:

Hematuria is a very common symptom of urinary bladder cancer in dogs; it is a condition in which blood comes in the urine due to which its color becomes dark red or brown colored. This condition can also be seen in urinary tract infections that is why I may become the cause of its late diagnosis. Pollakiuria is also a symptom seen in urinary bladder cancer in which frequency of urination is increased but it comes in small amount. Dysuria can also be seen in which pain while urination is experienced. When antibiotics are given for the suspected urinary tract infection then response to that medication is usually poor.

·         Treatment

There are some bladder cancer treatment options in dogs which include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and NSAIDs. In surgery some affected part of the urinary bladder or the whole urinary bladder is removed surgically to prevent its metastasis to other organs. In radiotherapy a highly energized beam of radiation is focused to the cancerous cells from the outside of the body and these cancerous cells are destroyed by using this radiation. In chemotherapy, chemotherapeutic drugs are given to the dogs for shrinking the size of cancer which are then destroyed by the radiotherapy or removed by surgery.

 

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