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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Oncology in Veterinary Medicine
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1388493

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, epidermal growth factor receptor, cyclooxygenase-2, survivin, E-cadherin and Ki-67 in canine nasal carcinomas and sarcomas – a pilot study

Provisionally accepted
Anna M. Pauly Anna M. Pauly 1,2Johannes Junginger Johannes Junginger 2*Gerhard U. Oechtering Gerhard U. Oechtering 1*Marion Hewicker-Trautwein Marion Hewicker-Trautwein 2*Sarah Rösch Sarah Rösch 1,3*
  • 1 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Lower Saxony, Germany
  • 2 Institute for Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
  • 3 University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany

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

    Background: Malignant intranasal tumors (NTs) are the most common cause of chronic nasal discharge in dogs. Besides radiation therapy, palliative therapy is necessary in some dogs. Therefore, studies on receptor expression have supported the utility of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in dogs with nasal carcinomas. However, studies on receptor expression in nasal sarcomas are lacking. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cyclooxigenase-2 (COX-2), Ki-67, survivin and E-cadherin in nasal carcinomas and sarcomas and compared it with tumor (T) categories based on computed tomography (CT). Results: In 26 dogs with NTs, cross sectional imaging and upper airway endoscopy with guided biopsy collection were performed, followed by histopathological examination of NTs, revealing 19 epithelial and 7 mesenchymal tumors. While EGFR and E-cadherin were only expressed by carcinomas, the following markers were expressed by both carcinomas and sarcomas without significant differences between tumor types and T-categories: VEGFR-2 (carcinomas and sarcomas 100%), COX-2 (carcinomas 63%, sarcomas 57%), survivin (carcinomas 100%, sarcomas 86%) and Ki-67 (median expression of 28.5% in carcinomas and 17.3% in sarcomas). Conclusion: Based on similarities in marker expression between canine carcinomas and sarcomas, clinical studies should further elucidate the use of TKI or COX-2 inhibitors as additional therapy in dogs with nasal sarcomas.

    Keywords: Dogs, Nasal tumors, chronic nasal discharge, T-categories, computed tomography, Immunohistochemistry, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors

    Received: 19 Feb 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pauly, Junginger, Oechtering, Hewicker-Trautwein and Rösch. 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:
    Johannes Junginger, Institute for Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
    Gerhard U. Oechtering, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, 04103, Lower Saxony, Germany
    Marion Hewicker-Trautwein, Institute for Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
    Sarah Rösch, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.