Feline Gum Cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common oral (mouth) cancer in cats. Oral SCC can be treated if caught early. Unfortunately, most cancers are found too late. SCC usually occurs in the gums or under the tongue. The tumor is aggressive and leads to destruction of underlying bone. The cat is ultimately unable to eat or breathe and must be euthanized. SCC usually strikes cats aged 12 years or older.

  1. Risk Factors

    • Cats whose owners smoke are four times more likely to develop oral SCC. Use of flea collars increases the risk of a SCC diagnosis by a factor of five; using flea shampoo reduces the risk by 90 percent. Regularly feeding canned food, especially tuna fish, increases the risk for oral SCC. Routine teeth cleaning and regular veterinary dental visits can alleviate canned feeding risks.

    Signs and Symptoms

    • A hard lump in the cheekbone or lower jawbone, tooth loss leaving a hole that doesn't heal, bad mouth odor or mouth ulcer can indicate the presence of a tumor. The cat's jaw may have an uneven appearance, and the cat may salivate, bleed from the mouth, have difficulty eating or swallowing and lose weight. The cat may paw his mouth aggressively. The cat's lips may bulge or the tongue may become stiff and protrude.

    Diagnosis

    • Diagnostic techniques include an oral examination and an x-ray and possibly a CT scan of the mouth/head to determine how large the tumor is. Your veterinarian may want to perform an aspiration or biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of oral SCC. Although oral SCC rarely spreads to lymph nodes or the bloodstream, your veterinarian will probably want to confirm that the cancer has not metastasized by performing other tests.

    Surgery

    • If the disease is caught early and involves the lower jaw, a veterinarian can perform a mandibulectomy, removal of the lower jaw. Average life expectancy after surgery is about seven months. There is a 38 percent recurrence rate after mandibulectomy. If the cat receives radiotherapy following surgery, average life expectancy increases to 14 months. After surgery the cat will experience drooling, difficulty eating, swallowing and grooming for about one month. One or more of these problems may persist. If the cat survives a year, he has a good chance of surviving two years.

    Chemotherapy Plus Radiation

    • When surgery is not an option because of the location of the oral SCC, chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy can extend the lives of most cats by about 170 days. About 10 percent of cats will live for a year or more after treatment. Radiotherapy is expensive, but cats usually experience few side effects. Chemotherapy alone has not been proven to be useful in combating oral SCC.

    Other Treatments

    • Hyperthermia (heat therapy), cryotherapy (cold therapy) and anti-inflammatory therapy (treatment with NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), generally extend the cat's life from 1.5 to 3 months. NSAIDs can cause unpleasant side effects that have to be weighed against the benefits of treatment.