Radiotherapy in the management of localized mucocutaneous oral lymphoma in dogs: 14 cases

Oral mucocutaneous lymphoma is rare in dogs. Surgery and chemotherapy do not usually provide effective long-term control. The objective of this study was to retrospectively evaluate survival of dogs with localized oral lymphoma treated with radiation therapy. The medical database of three institutions was searched for dogs with diagnosis of oral lymphoma treated with radiotherapy. Dogs with evidence of systemic disease were excluded. Survival was calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and prognostic variables analysed with log-rank test. Fourteen dogs were included in the study. Mean survival was 1129 days [95% confidence interval (CI) 711-1546] with median survival of 770 days. The overall response of radiotherapy was 67% (five complete and three partial responses). A survival advantage was seen in dogs with no evidence of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.002) and that achieved a complete response to radiation therapy (P = 0.013). Radiation therapy was a well-tolerated and effective treatment for localized oral lymphoma.