Surgical and Behavioral Relationships With Welfare

Prostate cancer has been reported to occur more commonly in neutered than intact male dogs in several case series. This study was undertaken to evaluate risk of prostate cancer in a large population database. The hypothesis was that castration is a risk factor for prostate cancer in male companion dogs. Data were derived from recorded visits to North American veterinary teaching hospitals. The Veterinary Medical Databases (VMDB) were queried to yield male dogs with urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), prostate adenocarcinoma (ACA), prostate TCC, prostate carcinoma (CA), and prostate tumors. A second query yielded all male dogs over the age of 4 years without a diagnosis of urinary tract cancer. These populations were compared to determine relative risks for developing each disease, singly and collectively, associated with neutering status. Odds ratios were calculated for breed as a risk factor. Neutered males had a significantly increased risk for each form of cancer. Neutered males had an odds ratio of 3.56 (3.02-4.21) for urinary bladder TCC, 8.00 (5.60-11.42) for prostate TCC, 2.12 (1.80-2.49) for prostate adenocarcinoma, 3.86 (3.13-4.16) for prostate carcinoma, and 2.84 (2.57-3.14) for all prostate cancers. Relative risks were highly similar when cases were limited to those with a histologically confirmed diagnosis. Breed predisposition suggests that genetic factors play a role in the development of prostate cancer. The risk associated with being neutered is highest for TCC, supporting previous work identifying the urothelium and ductular rather than acinar epithelium as the source of these tumors. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The number of pet cats is increasing in most countries, often outnumbering pet dogs, yet cats receive less veterinary care than their canine counterparts.(1) Clients state the difficulty of getting the cat into a carrier at home, driving to the clinic, and dealing with the fearful cat at the veterinary clinic as reasons for fewer visits.(2) Educating and preparing the client and the veterinary team with regard to respectful feline handling is necessary in order to avoid stress and accomplish the goal of good health care. Without such preparation, feline stress may escalate into fear or fear-associated aggression. The resulting stress may alter results of the physical examination and laboratory tests, leading to incorrect diagnoses (eg, diabetes mellitus) and unnecessary treatments.(3-5) Without compassionate and respectful handling by the veterinary team, clients may feel the team lacks skills and compassion, or does not understand cats. Injury may occur to the cat, client and/or veterinary team.(6) Clients who want to avoid stress for their cat may avoid veterinary visits or choose another practice instead.

The present retrospective study investigated the frequency of prostate carcinoma (PCA) among prostate abnormalities in dogs and determined whether castration influences the incidence of PCA in dogs. During the years 1993-1998, 15,363 male dogs were admitted to the Utrecht University Clinic of Companion Animals, and of these dogs 225 were diagnosed with prostatic disease. In addition, another 206 male dogs were diagnosed as having prostatic disease based on cytologic examination of aspiration biopsies submitted by referring veterinarians. Benign prostatic hyperplasia was diagnosed in 246 dogs (57.1%), prostatitis in 83 dogs (19.3%), and PCA in 56 dogs (13%). Dogs with PCA were significantly older (mean age=9.9 years) than dogs with other prostatic diseases (mean age=8.4 years). The Bouvier des Flandres breed had an increased risk (odds ratio (OR)=8.44; 95% CI 4.38-16.1) of having PCA. Castration (26/56) increased the risk (OR=4.34; 95% CI 2.48-7.62) of PCA. The mean age at diagnosis of PCA in castrated dogs and in intact male dogs was not significantly different. The interval between castration and onset of prostatic problems was highly variable, suggesting that castration does not initiate the development of PCA in the dog, but it does favour tumor progression.