Few words can scare a pet owner more than the word cancer. However, cancer is still a commonly encountered disease in both dogs and cats. While it is not always possible to prevent most forms of cancer, mammary tumors (more commonly thought of as breast cancer) is a relatively preventable form of cancer.
Breast cancer (mammary tumors) in dogs
In dogs, tumors involving the mammary glands (i.e. breast cancers) are reasonably common and are recognizable by feeling a palpable lump in the breast tissue. While less than 50% of mammary tumors in dogs are malignant (cancerous), the ones that are cancerous are capable of spreading to the lungs and other body organs.
Mammary tumors are seen most often in middle-aged to older dogs and are especially common in unspayed female dogs. It is estimated that as many as 25% (one in four) of unspayed female dogs will develop breast cancers.
Surgical removal of the tumor or cancer is the preferred treatment method for dogs that have breast tumors. In some cases, depending on the size and nature of the tumor, chemotherapy may be required as well.
Breast cancer (mammary tumors) in cats
Although breast cancers are much less common in cats than they are in dogs, feline mammary tumors are much more likely to be malignant than their canine counterparts. Roughly 90% of mammary tumors in cats are found to be malignant.
Cats diagnosed with mammary cancer (i.e. a maligant breast tumor) have a very poor prognosis. Aggressive surgical removal of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy is the most widely recommended method of treatment. However, treatment is not always very successful in the case of malignant mammary tumors in cats.
Spaying your dog or cat is the best way to prevent breast cancer
Dogs and cats that are spayed at a young age, prior to their first heat cycle, are quite unlikely to develop breast cancer or mammary tumors. Spaying after the first heat cycle has occurred can still decrease the incidence of tumor formation but the incidence is still higher than in those cats and dogs that are spayed prior to the first heat. As each subsequent heat cycle occurs, the incidence of mammary tumors increases as well. Therefore, the best way to prevent breast cancers (mammary tumors) in both dogs and cats is to spay your pet before the first heat cycle occurs if at all possible.
Spaying at a later age can still provide other health benefits for your pet and should still be performed if your pet has not been spayed previously. However, after several heat cycles have occurred, spaying is unlikely to reduce the risk of breast cancer for your dog or cat. Spaying prior to the occurrence of the first heat cycle remains the best method of preventing breast cancer in pet dogs and cats.
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