There are numerous types of therapies for oral neoplasia depending on the tumor type, size and location. Prior to any definitive therapy there are many steps that should be undertaken. The lesion should be biopsied to determine the type of tumor involved. Dental radiographs should be obtained to determine the extent of involvement of the bony structures. Depending on the type of tumor (especially Melanoma's) thoracic radiographs should be obtained to look for metastasis (spread). The regional lymph nodes should be at least palpated, if not biopsied to determine involvement. A complete blood panel should be obtained to ensure that the patient does not have any other underlying problems that may make anesthesia a risk. Finally, a treatment plan should be thoroughly discussed with the owners. The treatments may be very expensive, possibly disfiguring, and in some cases not curative, therefore all expectations and likely results should be discussed prior to commencement of definitive therapy.

Surgery for oral neoplasia is still the gold standard. The key to treatment is to obtain 1 to 2 cm margin of normal tissue around the tumor. As you can imagine this is very difficult in cats where 4 cm is the whole jaw. Therefore early detection and early radical surgery is in general the only chance for a cure. In general, the more forward in the mouth a tumor is, the better the chance for cure. Suffice to say that you can essentially remove 1/2 of the lower jaw (either half way back, or all of one side) and almost all of the maxilla with good function and quality of life for the patient. In addition, the esthetics is only slightly compromised, and most owners find them acceptable.

Complete discussion on oral cancer therapy is beyond the scope of this page. If you have specific questions please feel free to e-mail me. The major treatments for oral malignancies are surgery, radiation treatment (plus or minus hyperthermia therapy), and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy is in general not great for oral tumors, and will not be discussed here. The exception is that there is some new chemotherapies being developed for melanoma that rivals surgery in survival time (still not great), and that some fibrosarcoma respond fairly well to radiation therapy.