Treatment of mammary gland tumors in bitches: effects of sodium dichloroacetate as neoadjuvant therapy

Abstract

Mastectomy is the standard treatment for mammary gland tumors in dogs. In addition to traditional therapy, sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) can act as target therapy, as it may promote autophagy, reduce metastatic potential, and tumor proliferation in mammary tumor cell lines. This study aimed to analyze the effects of DCA as preoperative therapy for mammary tumors in bitches. Nineteen animals were selected, and they received DCA at a dose of 10 mg/kg orally every 12 hr, for 15 days. The periodic evaluation included hematological analysis (complete blood count and biochemical markers), evaluation of gastrointestinal adverse effects, evaluation of tumor volume, histopathological analysis, and immunohistochemical evaluation (Ki67 and cyclooxygenase-2/COX-2 markers). After treatment, there was a significant reduction in hematocrit (P=0.02) and leukocyte (P=0.04) means. Despite the variations for these two hematological parameters, the means remained within the reference range for the species. There were two cases of vomiting and one case of diarrhea. Most cases were classified as carcinoma in mixed tumor (n=7, 36.8%), followed by solid carcinoma (n=6, 31.6%). Nine cases (47.4%) showed reduced tumor volume, nine (47.4%) had stable disease, and one showed progressive disease. While there was no sample with a COX-2 score higher than 6, tumor samples with COX-2 scores 3 and 4 were significantly associated with stable disease or progression. DCA preoperative treatment for bitches with mammary gland tumors showed safety and potential cytoreduction in some cases.

Keywords: dog; target therapy; veterinary oncology.

Fig. 1.

A female dog with grade I tubular carcinoma at various stages of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) treatment: day 0 (A), day 7 (B), and day 15 (C) (case 9 detailed in Table 2). The dog exclusively received DCA during the treatment, resulting in a 30.8% reduction in the total tumor volume. Observable changes include a decrease in size, ulceration area, and inflammation throughout the treatment. Following the completion of DCA treatment, the patient underwent ovariohysterectomy before mastectomy; hence, the suture is visible in Fig. 1C.