Grade 2 mast cell tumor.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi and thanks for your question.

Mast cell tumors can sometimes be quite benign and other times can be quite worrisome.

The first thing I would ask the breeder is whether she meant this was a Grade 2 mast cell tumor rather than a Stage 2 mast cell tumor.

In regards to grades of mast cells, here is the difference:

• Grade 1 MCT: Very easy to cure


• Grade 2 MCT: Usually cured with surgery as long as the pathologist says the margins are clean (i.e. they got all of the tumor out). 90% are cured with surgery.


• Grade 3 MCT: Usually very bad news

When we have a mast cell tumor that we are worried about we will sometimes go further and do staging. (We may be worried if the pathologist says that the tumor margins are "dirty", or if it was a very aggressively growing tumor. Staging is looking for evidence of spread of mast cell cancer to other parts of the body such as the liver, spleen or lymph nodes. It usually involves aspiration of lymph nodes and other organs and ultrasounding the abdomen and xrays of the chest.

Usually, if a Grade 2 MCT is completely excised, we don't go ahead with staging.

So, in summary, if this was a grade 2 tumor and the margins are clear then this dog has a 90% chance of not having any more problems with mast cells.

If there was some staging done then we'll need more information as to where the tumor is spreading before we decide how serious it is.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

No worries about the misinformation! From what you have described, it sounds like Twinkle has a very good chance of being just fine.

"Narrow margins" means that around the tumor, the vet was also able to remove some tumor-free tissue as well which is very good. It would be better news to have "wide margins" where there is more tumor-free tissue. However, "dirty margins" would mean that not all of the cancer was removed.

So, according to the published statistics, if a Grade 2 MCT is removed with clean margins (which it was) there is a 90% chance that it will never come back.

Dr. Marie replied:

Glad to know that I have helped! That's why I do this. :)

It doesn't sound like there is anything more that you need to do for her at this point. If a new lump surfaces though then she needs to get to the vet right away to test it. If it is another mast cell the sooner it is removed the better.

Once again, thank you for adopting this girl! It's often hard for the dogs that aren't puppies to find homes.