SYNOVIAL SARCOMA IN DOGS - A REVIEW AND S TUDY OF 2 PATIENTS

Synovial sarcoma is an uncommon malignant tumour of mesenchymal origin , occurring mainly in the vicinity of a joint. Generally, an invasion of the joint and adjacent bone may occur. Synovial sarcoma usually aff ects middle-aged male dogs of large breed. The rate of tumour growth c an vary from very slow to very fast. Tumour heterogeneity may lead to a difficulty of the histological diagnosis. Metastasis to lungs and re gional lymph nodes and recurrence after surgical excision are common. Amputation of the affected limb is the most frequently used treatment. In the present case, the dogs were a 6 and a 7 year old male German s heepdog. In the first case it was a slowly growing tumour (2 years) wh ereas the second one has grown in a few months. Amputation was perform ed in the first case. Ten months later, the dog began to develop metas tasis, and has been euthanized. The second dog had already developed m etastatic disease when the diagnosis was performed and has been euthan ized.