Dr. Walt's happy tails: October 2002

Dear Dr. Walt: My 6-year-old king shepherd is developing tumors on his chest! I have friends who own a Doberman, and he is covered with them (he's much older). They say that they aren't dangerous and have had them checked. Is there a chance that they may be cancerous?

What you are referring to in your friend's Doberman are most likely called lipomas -- benign fatty tumors that occur under the skin of dogs as they age. They vary in size with some being as small as a pea whereas others can grow as large as a softball. However, I would not assume that your own dog has the same type of lumps as your friend's dog; they have had their dog checked and I would counsel you to do the same.

Your veterinarian can utilize a simple yet effective diagnostic technique called a fine-needle biopsy to gather more information on the lumps. This procedure uses a hypodermic needle (much like the ones used to give vaccinations) that is inserted into the growth and then some of the growth's tissue is aspirated or sucked out. This is placed on a microscope slide, special stains are applied to make the tissues more visible, and a diagnosis is made. Once the sample is collected it is often sent to a veterinary pathologist, someone who specializes in evaluating samples of this nature. Because the sample collected is small, a diagnosis is not always possible but the procedure is quick, relatively painless, and can be done without an anesthetic so may be worth considering as an initial step in the diagnostic process. Don't delay because on the off chance it truly is cancer, the sooner it is identified and treated, the better.