attivazione di un registro tumori animali nelle province di Venezia e Vicenza

Cancer is a major cause of death in companion animals, and the prevalence of cancer in pets continue to rise. Furthermore, many forms of pet neoplasm resemble their human counterparts in biologic behaviour, pathologic expression, and recognised risk factors. In April 2005, a pilot project aiming at establishing a tumour registry of dog and cat, living in Venice and Vicenza provinces (Veneto Region) was activated, with the aim of estimating incidence of spontaneous tumours. The canine and feline populations of the provinces of Venice and Vicenza were estimated in order to establish cancer incidence in dogs and cats. All the veterinarian of the Veneto region were informed about the registry project and invited to submit any suspected neoplasm from dog and cat living in Vicenza and Venice provinces. The registry provides estimates of cancer incidence from the reported cases in dogs and cats according to age, sex and breed. Risk factors and geographic trends have been also considered. During the first three years overall, 2,509 canine and 494 feline cases of neoplasia were diagnosed. The estimate of canine and feline population turned out to be of 296,318 and 214,683 subjects, respectively, for a human population of 659,442 families. In dogs, the estimated incidence rate per 100,000 dog-years (IR) was 282.2 in all the catchment area. Dogs had a greater risk ratio than cats to be affected by neoplasia (IRs 282.2 in dogs and 76.7 in cats), and malignant and benign tumours were equally distributed in male and female dogs. Cats had a 4,61-fold higher incidence of malignant tumours than benign. In both dogs and cats, pure breeds had almost 2-fold higher incidence of malignant tumours than mixed breeds. Tumour incidence increased with age in both dog and cat populations.