HEREDITARY MULTIFOCAL RENAL CYSTADENOCARCINOMAS AND NODULAR DERMATOFIBROSIS IN 51 GERMAN-SHEPHERD DOGS

The clinical findings in German shepherd dogs with hereditary multifoc al renal cystadenocarcinomas and nodular dermatofibrosis are presented , Between 1978 and 1996, 51 cases were examined. Eight cases were dete cted after being offered a clinical examination because the disease wa s present in a parent. The remaining 43 dogs were diagnosed after an u nsolicited visit to a clinic because of a specific problem, Skin lesio ns were the main reason (37 per cent) the owners presented their dog f or examination. The mean age at diagnosis of renal cystadenocarcinomas and nodular dermatofibrosis was 8.2 years, The male-to-female ratio w as 1.1, while the corresponding figure for a reference population was 1.25. Enlarged and abnormally shaped kidneys were palpated in 60 per c ent of the dogs and were detected by radiography in 86 per cent of cas es. The renal lesions, including metastases, were the main reason for euthanasia and death. The mean age at death was 9.3 years, and the mea n age at the first detection of nodular dermatofibrosis was 6.4 years.