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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1524896
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent developments in Animal Reproduction: combining research with practice View all 3 articles

Long-term ultrasonographic changes of the canine prostate gland after castration

Provisionally accepted
Stefano Spada Stefano Spada 1,2Daniela De felice Daniela De felice 2Sebastian Arlt Sebastian Arlt 1Luiz Paulo Nogueira Aires Luiz Paulo Nogueira Aires 3Gary England Gary England 4Marco Russo Marco Russo 2*
  • 1 Clinic of Reproductive Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2 Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
  • 3 School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 4 School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, College Road, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Ultrasound imaging (US) is the method of choice to assess the canine prostate gland. Whilst recent studies have documented the role of castration in the development of prostatic neoplasia, little is known about parenchymal and perfusion features of the normal and abnormal prostate in neutered dogs. No data are available concerning prostatic changes after the first 90 days following castration. The present study aimed to acquire data on the long-term ultrasonographic changes occurring to the canine prostate after castration. Ten adult neutered dogs underwent B-mode US and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of the prostate on two occasions: day of the first examination (T0) and six years later (T1). The prostate was evaluated via B-mode US and the volume was calculated using Atalan's formula. For CEUS examination, an intravenous contrast agent (SonoVue) was administered to assess prostatic perfusion. Videoclips were recorded, and time-intensity curves were obtained to determine contrast parameters: peak enhancement (PPI) and time to peak (TTP). Volumetric and perfusion results were then compared between timepoints. At both examinations, the prostate appeared similar on B-mode US in terms of morphology and echotexture, minimally decreasing in volume over time. Prostate perfusion was significantly reduced in all dogs between T0 and T1, with a PPI decrease from 54.9 to 29.6 % and an increase in TTP from 26.3 to 47 s. These preliminary data provide baseline information on the B-mode appearance and CEUS measurements of the prostate gland of neutered dogs and suggest that prostatic involution after castration is not a short-term process but continues over several months.

    Keywords: Castration1, Canine prostate2, CEUS3, B-mode ultrasound4, involution5

    Received: 08 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Spada, De felice, Arlt, Nogueira Aires, England and Russo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marco Russo, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, 80138, Campania, Italy

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