ORAL MELANOMA IN CATS
Background
Oral melanoma is very rare in cats. They occur in older cats with no apparent sex or breed predisposition.
Clinical Parameters
Cats with oral melanoma show signs of drooling and facial swelling.
Tumors occur in the gingiva, palate, and mandible. These tumors may be pigmented.Clinical Work-up
Any oral tumor requires staging by blood work, radiographs, and local lymph node evaluation. Metastasis of oral melanoma in cats is common, although it sometimes is late to occur.
Therapeutic Approach
Three cats with oral melanomas were treated with surgical excision. All three died as a result of metastatic disease within 5 months of surgery. Oral melanoma is an aggressive neoplasm, and, without therapy adjunctive to surgery, a poor prognosis should be given. Radiation therapy has been shown to be effective in controlling localized disease. Some believe that carboplatin is an effective drug for control of this tumor; however, there have not been any published studies to confirm this.