Imaging Modalities for Restaging Solid, Soft Tissue Abdominal Tumors

Source

Bevelock TJ, Skinner OT, Baumgardner RM, et al. Radiographs are of limited use and low cost-effectiveness when combined with ultrasound for abdominal restaging in dogs with solid, soft tissue tumours. J Small Anim Pract. 2024. doi:10.1111/jsap.13791

Research Note

MRI and CT for abdominal restaging of solid tumors is common in human medicine but can be cost prohibitive in veterinary medicine. Abdominal ultrasonography (AUS) and/or abdominal radiography (AXR; less common) are typically used in veterinary patients because they are more cost effective and accessible.

This retrospective study assessed the frequency of detection of clinically relevant AUS and/or AXR findings for restaging of dogs with solid, soft tissue tumors with intra-abdominal involvement or potential for intra-abdominal metastasis. Records of 159 dogs with a total of 223 restaging episodes revealed 92 clinically relevant findings detected with AUS alone and 65 detected with a combination of AUS and AXR. Only 1 clinically relevant finding was detected with AXR alone and was later regarded as erroneous. The authors concluded that AXR was 1.52 times the cost of AUS per clinically relevant finding and was of minimal use compared with AUS for restaging of solid, soft tissue tumors, either when used alone or in combination with AUS. Restaging recommendations for other tumor types have not been determined.