Nasal Cancers Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, treatment options for nasal cancers are fairly limited. Nasal lymphoma can show a good response to either chemotherapy or radiation treatment or both. Other cancers such as carcinomas can show a response to radiation, but symptoms and disease will often recur.
Radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for non-lymphoma nasal tumors. Treatment protocols vary but generally are delivered weekly or twice weekly. Possible side effects include inflammation of the tissues of the mouth and eyes, blindness, and cataract formation. Radiation treatment is only offered at a limited number of facilities.
Chemotherapy is used mainly to treat nasal lymphoma and uses a combination of tablets and injections. Ideally, it is given with radiation treatment for lymphoma. Chemotherapy for carcinomas can also be considered, however, there is not as much information available on survival. In one case report, a cat survived for approximately 21 months, however, survival times are often shorter.
Surgery is rarely performed as it does not improve survival and the tumors are very invasive into the surrounding tissues.
Palliative treatment
Sometimes palliative treatment plans can be developed for cats to help keep them comfortable. This could involve the following: Pain relief Antibiotics Appetite stimulants Nebulisation to help with nasal secretions
The average survival time for cats with cancers other than lymphoma, that received radiation treatment (definitive radiation treatment) was approximately 12 months, with 16% of cats still alive after 2 years. Another study using palliat ive radiation treatment found that most cats showed an improvement (86%) and their overall survival time was approximately 1 year.
For cats with nasal lymphoma treated with radiation and chemotherapy, the survival time was approximately 2.6 years.