Skin cancer in horses

Skin cancer, or neoplasia, is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in horses, accounting for 45[1] to 80%[2] of all cancers diagnosed. Sarcoids are the most common type of skin neoplasm and are the most common type of cancer overall in horses. Squamous-cell carcinoma is the second-most prevalent skin cancer, followed by melanoma.[3] Squamous-cell carcinoma and melanoma usually occur in horses greater than 9-years-old,[3] while sarcoids commonly affect horses 3 to 6 years old. Surgical biopsy is the method of choice for diagnosis of most equine skin cancers,[1] but is contraindicated for cases of sarcoids.[4] Prognosis and treatment effectiveness varies based on type of cancer, degree of local tissue destruction, evidence of spread to other organs (metastasis) and location of the tumor. Not all cancers metastasize and some can be cured or mitigated by surgical removal of the cancerous tissue or through use of chemotherapeutic drugs.

  1. ^ a b Beuchner-Maxwell, "Skin tumors.", pg. 692
  2. ^ Knottenbelt, Derek C. (February 2, 2003). "Basic principles of diagnosis and management of neoplasia in horses" (PDF). Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Italian Association of Equine Veterinarians, Pisa, Italy, 2003. XIV Congress.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference valentine 147 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference knottenbelt and mcgarry 400 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).