Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of pulmonary nodules at presentation in cases of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in dogs with no previous thoracic imaging. Animals: Client-owned dogs with a histologic diagnosis of STS. Procedures: Dogs were retrospectively included in this study if the first thoracic imaging performed was at the time of presentation to our referral center. De novo and recurrent tumors were included, and information regarding tumor grade, history (primary mass vs scar vs recurrence), duration, location and size was also collected. Results: One hundred and forty-six dogs were included. Routine staging was performed with computed tomography (131 dogs, 89.7%) or 3-view thoracic radiographs (15 dogs, 10.3%). STS were grade 1 in 55.5% of dogs, grade 2 in 27.4% and grade 3 in 17.1%. Pulmonary nodules suggestive of metastasis were present in 11.7% of cases overall and in 6.5%, 5.6% and 37.5% of grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 STS cases, respectively. Tumor grade (low/intermediate versus high) and tumor duration (<= 3 months versus > 3 months) were significantly associated with presence of pulmonary nodules at presentation. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: This is the first large study reporting prevalence of pulmonary nodules at presentation in dogs with STS having had no previous thoracic imaging. The prevalence of pulmonary nodules suggestive of metastasis at presentation is low (<7%) in grade 1 and grade 2 canine STS.