From the Research
For dogs with apocrine gland adenocarcinoma following surgical removal, the most effective chemotherapy protocol typically involves toceranib phosphate (Palladia) at 2.75 mg/kg orally every other day, as it has been shown to provide a clinical benefit in 69% of dogs, with 20.7% experiencing partial response and 48.3% experiencing stable disease 1. The use of toceranib phosphate is supported by a study published in 2020, which demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma in dogs, with a median progression-free survival of 313 days and a median overall survival time of 827 days 1. Key considerations for chemotherapy administration include:
- Initiating treatment 10-14 days after surgery when adequate healing has occurred
- Performing a complete blood count prior to each treatment to ensure the patient can tolerate the medication
- Considering combination therapy with carboplatin and doxorubicin for aggressive cases, though this increases the risk of side effects
- Evaluating the presence of sublumbar lymphadenopathy and lymph node extirpation as negative prognostic factors, as well as the administration of platinum-containing chemotherapeutic agents as a positive prognostic factor 2
- Recognizing that completeness of surgical excision is not associated with survival time or disease-free interval 2
- Being aware of the potential for post-operative complications, including surgical site infection and local recurrence, and taking steps to mitigate these risks 3
- Considering the use of radiotherapy as a palliative treatment protocol, which has been shown to provide comparable median time to progression and acceptable side effects 4