44533 - Veterinary Oncology (3 Credits)

Learning outcomes

The course intends to give the student the bases to properly deal with a veterinary cancer patient. The topics will concern how to correctly diagnose a tumor, how to reach a prognosis and how treat it. At the end of the course the student will furthermore have knowledge about main animal tumors of companion and large animals. Other topics will be tumor biology, histopahology and cytology.

Course contents

From the suspicion to the diagnosis in veterinary oncology. Cytology and histology. Diagnostic criteria. Grading. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. TNM staging. Clinicopathologic effects of tumors. How to reach a prognosis. Invasiveness and metastasis. Paraneoplastic syndromes. How to reach a prognosis. Tumor therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, other therapies.

Anatomic classification, epidemiology, diagnosis, biologic behaviour, prognosis and therapy of tumors of the skin, soft tissues, mammary gland,  bone, muscle, alimentary system, reapiratory system, urogenital system and nervous system, lymphoma, mesothelioma.

Readings/Bibliography

MARCONATO, DEL PIERO, Oncologia Medica dei Piccoli Animali, Poletto editore, 2005

HAHN KA, Oncologia Veterinaria, Editrice Estense - Giraldi Editore, 2003
MEUTEn DJ Tumors in Domestic Animals, IowaState Press, Ames, 2002
Marcato P. S.: Patologia sistematica veterinaria. Il Sole 24 Ore-Edagricole, 2002
Withrow S.J., MacEwen E.G Small Animal Clinical Oncology, W.B. Saunders, 2007
Morrison WB Cancer in dogs and catsWilliams and Wilkins, 1998
Autori Vari Diagnostica Istologica dei Tumori degli Animali Domestici, Fondazione Iniziative Zooprofilattiche e Zootecniche, Brescia, 1997
HAHN KA, RICHARDSON RC Cancer chemotherapy: a veterinary handbook, Williams & Wilkins, 1995
Ogilvie GK, Moore AS Managing the veterinary cancer patient.Veterinary Learning Systems, Trenton, 1995.
WHITE R.A.S Manual of small animal oncology, BSAVA Publications, 1991
MORRIS Oncologia clinica del cane e del gatto,  UTET, 2003

ROMANELLI Oncologia del cane e del gatto, Masson, 2007

Teaching methods

academic lectures, practical lecures of cytology, histopathology, necropsies of oncologic cases, clinical cases from the faculty hospital

Assessment methods

The final exam comprises a written part and a oral part

Written exam: test on general and special oncology arguments

Oral exam: the student must choose a tumor and extensively study its epidemiology, biology, differential diagnosis, grading, staging, prognosis, therapy.

Teaching tools

lectures: Powerpoint

practice: clinical cases, microscopy, necropsies

Office hours

See the website of Giuliano Bettini