Giacobino Davide, Olimpo Matteo, Ferraris Erica Ilaria, Martinelli Greta, Maniscalco Lorella, Camerino Mariateresa, Riccardo Federica, Cavallo Federica, Tarone Lidia, Cino Marzia, Dentini Alfredo, Iussich Selina, Lardone Elena, Manassero Luca, Maria Raffaella De, Buracco Paolo, Morello Emanuela
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, Italy.
Animal Oncology and Imaging Center AG, Hünenberg, Switzerland.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jul 25;12:1616419. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1616419. eCollection 2025.
The most appropriate approach to regional/sentinel lymph nodes (LN) for staging canine oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is still controversial. This study aims to retrospectively evaluate the prognostic impact of neck dissection modality and LN metastasis in a homogeneous cohort of dogs treated by surgery and adjuvant anti-CSPG4 electrovaccination. Seventy-seven dogs were enrolled and divided into two groups based on the presence (Group A, 24 dogs) or absence (Group B, 53 dogs) of histologically confirmed LN metastasis at the time of surgery. The overall LN metastatic rate was 31%; metastasis was found mostly in the mandibular lymph center (83%). Median survival time (MST) and disease-free interval (DFI) in Group A were 406 and 134 days, respectively. Although shorter, these values were not significantly different from MST and DFI in Group B (534 and 219 days, respectively; = 0.16 and = 0.11). Stratifying the cases based on the type of lymphadenectomy performed, no statistical differences were observed between Groups 1 (ipsilateral lymphadenectomy) and 2 (bilateral lymphadenectomy) regarding both MST and DFI. Similarly, no significant differences in MST and DFI were observed among subgroups based on ipsilateral (Group 4) and bilateral (Group 6) removal versus ipsilateral (Group 3) and bilateral (Group 5) non-removal of even the medial retropharyngeal LN. No association was found between LN metastasis and recurrence or distant metastasis. Finally, no association was found between lymphadenectomy pattern and progressive disease. The results recorded in this study, i.e., that ipsilateral mandibular lymphadenectomy may be a reasonable surgical option in OMM, apply for this cohort of dogs only, and the translation of this principle to canine OMMs differently treated needs further investigations. Additionally, further efforts should be addressed to studies on sentinel LN identification for canine OMM staging.
对于犬口腔恶性黑色素瘤（OMM）分期而言，处理区域/前哨淋巴结（LN）的最合适方法仍存在争议。本研究旨在回顾性评估在接受手术和辅助抗CSPG4电疫苗接种治疗的一组同质犬中，颈部清扫方式和LN转移对预后的影响。77只犬被纳入研究，并根据手术时组织学确诊的LN转移情况分为两组（A组，24只犬；B组，53只犬）。总体LN转移率为31%；转移主要发生在下颌淋巴结中心（83%）。A组的中位生存时间（MST）和无病间期（DFI）分别为406天和134天。虽然较短，但这些值与B组的MST和DFI（分别为534天和219天；P = 0.16和P = 0.11）无显著差异。根据所进行的淋巴结切除术类型对病例进行分层，1组（同侧淋巴结切除术）和2组（双侧淋巴结切除术）在MST和DFI方面均未观察到统计学差异。同样，基于同侧（第4组）和双侧（第6组）切除与同侧（第3组）和双侧（第5组）甚至未切除咽后内侧LN的亚组之间，在MST和DFI方面也未观察到显著差异。未发现LN转移与复发或远处转移之间存在关联。最后，未发现淋巴结切除模式与疾病进展之间存在关联。本研究记录的结果，即同侧下颌淋巴结切除术可能是OMM中一种合理的手术选择，仅适用于这组犬，将这一原则应用于不同治疗方式的犬OMM还需要进一步研究。此外，应进一步致力于犬OMM分期的前哨淋巴结识别研究。
