EQUINE SARCOIDS - OCCURRENCE AND TREATMEN T

Equine sarcoids are locally invasive, nonmalignant, fibroblastic skin tumors appearing in any breed and colour of horses. Geldings aged 3 to 8 years are mainly prone to develop disease. Sarcoid are recorded as solitary or multiple tumors and mostly detectable at the ventral abdom en, limbs, and the head of the animal. A genetic predisposition and vi ral causes (bovine papillomavirus) are discussed for their etiology. T herapy oi these tumors is associated with high recurrence rates. Tumor recurrence depends on the number and localisation of tumors and type of therapeutic methods. The recurrent sarcoids are most often recorded within six months after treatment and seem to be resistent to further therapy. The results of this study indicate that intratumoral BCG-app lication combined with surgical excision is the method oi choice. Peri ocular equine sarcoids were shown to have the lowest rate of recurrenc e.