Male dogs are four times more likely to develop the rare oronasal form of CTVT than females
A new paper from the Transmissible Cancer Group published in the Veterinary Record shows that male dogs are four to five times more likely than female dogs to be infected with the oro-nasal form of canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT).
CTVT usually affects dogs’ genital regions and is transmitted during mating. But sometimes the cancer can affect other areas like the nose, mouth and skin. Sniffing or licking other dogs’ genitalia – the common site of CTVT – can spread this unusual cancer to the nose and mouth.
We analysed a database of nearly 2,000 CTVT cases from around the globe and found that 32 of these were of the oronasal form. Strikingly, 27 of these oronasal CTVT cases affected male dogs.
The sex disparity seems to be because of behaviour differences between the sexes: male dogs spend more time sniffing and licking female dogs’ genitalia than vice versa. Furthermore, the female genital tumours may also be more accessible for sniffing and licking, compared to the male genital tumours.
Although oronasal CTVT is rare, we think that it is important to consider CTVT as a possible diagnosis for oronasal tumours in dogs. Treatment of CTVT is usually very effective, using single agent Vincristine chemotherapy, and the vast majority of dogs recover.
If you are interested to learn more about this recent work on CTVT, read the press release, watch our short video about oronasal CTVT or access the full paper.