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. 2019 Apr;21(4):306-313.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X18773913. Epub 2018 May 23.

Response, disease-free interval and overall survival of cats with nasal planum squamous cell carcinoma treated with a fractionated vs a single-dose protocol of strontium plesiotherapy

Davide Berlato  1 , Sue Murphy  1 , Silja Laberke  1 , Sara Verganti  1
Affiliations

Response, disease-free interval and overall survival of cats with nasal planum squamous cell carcinoma treated with a fractionated vs a single-dose protocol of strontium plesiotherapy

Davide Berlato et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: The main aim of the study was to establish response, disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival of cats with nasal planum squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated with Sr90 plesiotherapy. A secondary aim was to determine whether a fractionated protocol is more effective than a single-dose protocol in terms of response, DFI and overall survival. The third aim was to evaluate whether we can identify prognostic factors that influence overall survival.

Methods: This was a retrospective study that included cats with a diagnosis of nasal planum SCC treated with Sr90 plesiotherapy at a single institution.

Results: Seventy-four cats were included in the study. Thirty-two were treated with a fractionated protocol and 42 with a single-dose treatment. Sr90 plesiotherapy was able to induce complete response in 74% of cats with nasal planum SCC. The median DFI was 780 days (95% confidence interval [CI] 383-1177), with 17% of cats experiencing local recurrence. The overall survival for all cats was 1039 days (95% CI 55-1528). The DFI of cats treated with the fractionated Sr90 was significantly longer compared with the single-dose treatment, whereas response and overall survival were not statistically different. Other prognostic factors that influenced the overall survival were early-stage disease, absence of concurrent problems and complete response to the treatment. Acute and long-term toxicity associated with the treatment were minimal and the aesthetic outcome was pleasing in almost all cases.

Conclusions and relevance: Strontium plesiotherapy is a safe and effective treatment of nasal planum SCC in cats.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow-chart representing the inclusion process of the cases in the present study. SCC = squamous cell carinoma
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier survival plots comparing (a) disease-free interval (DFI) and (b) overall survival (OS) of cats treated with a fractionated (continuous line) or a single-dose Sr90 protocol (dotted line). There was a statistically significant difference in DFI (P = 0.004) but not in OS (P = 0.07)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier survival plots of significant prognostic factors affecting overall survival. (a) Stage of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (early stage shown by continuous line; advanced stage shown by dotted line) (P <0.001). (b) Concurrent diseases (absent shown by continuous line; present shown by dotted line) (P = 0.001). (c) Total dose divided by the median value (⩾135 Gy shown by continuous line; <135 Gy shown by dotted line) (P = 0.01). (d) Response to the first Sr90 (complete response shown by continuous line; partial response by dotted line; and progressive disease by dashed line) (P <0.001)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Three cats with nasal planum squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) before and after Sr90 plesiotherapy. (a,b) Complete response of two small superficial SCCs (stage Tis). (c,d) Complete response of an early-stage SCC (stage T1). (e,f) Partial response of an advanced SCC (stage T3). The nasal philtrum was treated with a second Sr90 treatment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms