Medical and surgical treatment in thyroid tumors in dogs and cats

Abstract

Thyroid tumours represent 1-4% of the total number of neoplasms suffered by dogs and 10-15% of the total number of tumours appearing in the neck and head region.5 Benign adenomatous hyperplasia (adenoma) of one (30%) or both (70%) thyroid lobes is the most common pathological abnormality associated with hyperthyroidism in cats, occurring in 96–98% of cases. Thyroid carcinoma is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism in cats, accounting for approximately 2–4% of cats.7 In this issue, 49 clinical cases of animals with thyroid tumors have been reviewed. 43 of them are cats, all of them with hyperthyroidism and the other 6 are dogs; 4 of which have thyroid carcinoma, one of them has thyroid adenoma and the other is unknown. A summary chart has been made grouping the common symptoms, the biochemical changes they suffer in the laboratory tests, the treatment they received and the clinical response they had to that treatment. In general, the cats were treated with medication and in some cases they were given a special diet of support, giving very good results. In the case of dogs, due to the severity of the disease, most were treated surgically by thyroidectomy with prior medication to stabilize total T4 levels and decrease the risk of surgery. Surgical treatment had good clinical results, but due to the lack of follow-up of clinical cases, the patient's final status is unknown.