I have just been told my dog has a grade 2 Aggressive Tumour From one LEssion that has been removed with very good margins. I am readIng all about thd tumour but Confused about prognosis etc The vet seemed positive in her outlook but we have been referred to an oncologist who may or may not want further treatment. All his blood tests were normal. I am confused about grade 2 and aggressive form. Can you please clarify?
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It is great news that the tumor removed had clean margins! This means it is much less likely to come back in the future.
Tumors are graded on how many abnormal or cancer-type cells are seen when examining the biopsy under a microscope. Grading can be different for all the tumor types, but for most tumors a grade of 2 is only moderate in severity. This means the tumor has a chance of spreading but it is not very likely.
Your vet probably recommended you visit an l oncologist just to be thorough. Oncologist have a lot more up-to-date information on cancer treatments and staging then regular practitioners do. The oncologist may recommend you do chemo to be on the safe side or they may recommend that you don't need to take any further steps.
I hope this helps. Thanks for using PetCoach. Best of luck.
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Hello, sorry to hear about Max. It depends on what kind of aggressive tumor Max had removed. I am almost certain you may be talking about a mast cell tumor based on the grading scale.
A grade 2 mast cell tumor refers to its level of differentiation and behavior on microscopic evaluation. That is, if the tumor is clearly defined with clear borders between normal tissue and malignant tissue. Typically, the well differentiated tumors are grade 1 which have a clear distinction between normal and abnormal tissue. Grade 3 have very poor distinction, and grade 2 are somewhere in between. Grade 1 tumors are slow growing in behavior, grade 3 are fast growing, and grade 2 again are somewhere in-between.
A good prognostic factor for grade 2 tumors, meaning how likely is it for them to return and/or spread has to do with the margins obtain upon removal and the mitotic index. The mitotic index refers to the amount of replication occurring within the tumor cells. A hight mitotic index, more division, has a worse prognosis than a low mitotic index. Clean margins have a better prognosis than dirty margins.
Depending on the biopsy report, your oncologist may recommend following up with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. They may also recommend that Max does not need any further treatment.
Perhaps, what your veterinarian means by a grade 2 aggressive form is that the tumor has variable differentiation and a high mitotic index, though its likelihood of recurrence is higher and therefore referred you to an oncologist to assess if chemo or radiotherapy was necessary.
I hope this helps and best wishes for you and Max.
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