From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2001-12-16 22:44:00 UTC
Subject: Re: adenocarcinoma has metastasized?
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Natasha Mohr <natashamohr@h...> wrote:
> I have a sad question to ask. When my 5 1/2 year old sprite, Xena,
had
> surgery for adrenal and insulinoma a couple of weeks ago, they
removed the
> left adrenal. The path report came back as adenocarcinoma. It
also said
> that they found cancer cells in the surrounding adipose tissue that
was
> taken at the margins of the tumor. My vet takes this, as do I, as
a good
> sign that it has probably metastasized. I was surprised,
considering that
> these tumors don't spread very quickly.
>
> My question is this. How long does Xena have, realistically? My
vet
> wasn't going to venture a guess, but I would like to know. So far
it has
> invaded no organs, and now that she has recovered from the surgery
she is
> as bouncy as ever. (The insulinoma that was removed appeared to be
in its
> early stages, so I am most concerned about the cancer.
Dear Natasha:
The prognosis is not as bad as you have imagined. The extension of
the carcinoma outside the adrenal capsule is not a negative
prognostic factor in ferrets - this just as often occurs with benign
neoplasms and even non-neoplastic hyperplasia - the ferret capsule
appears to be unable to contain ANY lesion. What is of more
importance in this case is if your vet thinks that he removed the
entire tumor. The assumption that there is metastasis here is not
warranted by the path report and the typical behavior of this tumor
in ferrets.
Regarding how long she has, I wouldn't hazard a guess, but I'll bet
it's quite a while.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM