Transmissible veneral tumour

TRANSMISSIBLE venereal tumor (TVT) occurs in dogs and is a tumor of the external genitalia which rarely affects the mouth or nose.

It is spread by sexual activity or social behaviour.

It is also known as Sticker tumour or infectious sarcoma and is one of only three known transmissible cancers. It is common in Eswatini.

TVT is so successful because the tumours themselves are the infectious agents.

The malignant tumour cells from one dog are transferred to another during copulation and by licking, biting and sniffing tumour-affected areas.

Generally direct contact is not a highly efficient mode of disease transfer, but TVT thrives in domestic dogs where a single male can produce dozens of litters over his lifetime, allowing the tumour to affect many more females than it could in a monogamous species.

One male dog can infect twenty or more females.

The tumour does not often metastasize (spread to other parts of the body) except in puppies and immunocompromised dogs.

When it spreads, it can spread from lymph nodes to the skin, brain, eye, liver, spleen, testicle and muscle.

What to Watch For

A visible mass on the penis or vagina. The tumour often has a cauliflower-like appearance and ranges in size from small (5 millimetres) to a large mass (greater than 10 centimetres).

The surface is often ulcerated and inflamed and bleeds easily.

Blood dripping from the penis or vagina. Frequent licking of the genitalia. In some cases the dog may not be able to pass urine because of a blockage of the urethra.

Similar masses in the mouth or nose and nosebleeds or other nasal discharge.

Diagnosis

Biopsy by a qualified veterinarian is necessary for diagnosis.

Treatment

Tumours may be removed by surgery, but surgery may be difficult due to the tumour locations and tumours often recur.

However, the prognosis for a complete remission with chemotherapy is excellent.

Treatment is dangerous and must only be undertaken by a qualified veterinarian.

If treatment is incorrectly given, the chemicals that destroy tumour cells will destroy the dog’s healthy, normal cells.

Prevention

TVT is most commonly seen in tropical and subtropical climates in large populations of sexually active stray dogs.

In their natural wild state, canids are rarely affected by this disease because their populations are more spaced and their social behaviours more regulated.

It is the way we keep and breed dogs in domestication that makes them prone to this ugly, painful and sometimes terminal cancer.

In other words, you can prevent your dog from catching TVT.

It is easily preventable by sterilising and not allowing exposure to unknown dogs. Dogs that are not sexually active will not get TVT.

Don’t be responsible for inflicting this horrible disease on your dogs.

STERILISE ALL DOGS BY SIX MONTHS OF AGE!

If symptoms occur after sterilising, it simply means that the dog was infected before the operation. Treatment is straightforward and a full recovery can be expected.