Primary brain tumors in two dogs treated by surgical resection in combination with postoperative radiation therapy.

Primary brain tumors in two dogs were surgically removed followed by postoperative radiation therapy. The two tumors were confirmed histologically to be astrocytoma and meningioma, respectively. After the surgery, the neurological status of each dog improved dramatically and a total dose of 40 Gy was delivered to the surgical site to treat residual tumor tissue. Although the dog with astrocytoma died 6 months after surgery due to unknown causes, the dog with meningioma has lived for over 24 months with a degree of neurological disorder less severe than that before treatment. These results suggested the effectiveness of this type of therapy on brain tumor in dogs and therapeutic modality should be positively planned to treat canine brain tumors.