Epidemiologic, clinical, pathologic, and prognostic characteristics of splenic hemangiosarcoma and splenic hematoma in dogs: 217 cases (1985)

Data on age, sex, and breed were obtained from surgical pathologic records of 92 dogs with splenic hemangiosarcoma (SHS) and for 125 dogs with splenic hematoma (SHA) diagnosed in 1985 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Further information on body weight, clinical and surgical findings, and survival time was obtained for 59 dogs (64.1%) with SHS and 91 dogs (72.8%) with SHA. Splenic hemangiosarcoma was markedly more common in dogs 8 to 13 years old, and SHA was appreciably more common in dogs greater than or equal to 8 years old, compared with dogs 1 to 7 years old. Compared with sexually intact females, only spayed females were at significantly (odds ratio [or], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 4.1) increased risk for developing SHS; sex predisposition was not found for dogs with SHA. The German Shepherd Dog was the only breed with increased risk for development of either SHS (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 2.7 to 7.8) or SHA (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.7 to 4.9), compared with all other purebred dogs. Association of tumor type for 7 commonly reported clinical signs with observance of hemoperitoneum at surgery was determined; anorexia (P = 0.01), collapse (P = 0.01), and hemoperitoneum (P less than 0.001) were significantly more common in dogs with SHS. The median survival time for dogs with SHS was 19 days, compared with 338 days for dogs with SHA (P less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)