Sebaceous Gland Tumors in Dogs

Identification

• A sebaceous gland tumor is a growth that resembles a viral wart in appearance. This tumor can appear anywhere on the body, unlike viral warts that usually appear on the face of young dogs. Sebaceous gland tumors may appear in large numbers and are more common in older dogs. Both male and female dogs may develop sebaceous gland tumors.

Types

• Approximately 50 percent of sebaceous growths on dogs are not considered tumors, but are an area of excessive sebaceous cell growth, according to Marvistavet.com. These are called nodular sebaceous hyperplasia and are round lesions that look like cauliflower and may bleed. Nodular sebaceous hyperplasia are common in beagles, cocker spaniels, poodles, Dachshunds and miniature schnauzers. Approximately 37 percent of sebaceous growths are considered sebaceous epithelioma, which look much like the nodular sebaceous hyperplasia growths. This lesion occurs most often in larger breed dogs, are black in color and usually appear on the dog's head and eyelids. Sebaceous adenoma are lesions that look much like nodular sebaceous hyperplasia and may actually arise from these areas. Approximately 2 percent of sebaceous gland tumors are sebaceous carcinomas, which are malignant. This type of tumor is seen most often in cocker spaniels and are locally invasive, but do not usually spread to other areas of the body.

Treatment

• The treatment for sebaceous gland carcinoma tumors is removal of the tumor. This is usually easily accomplished with a local anesthetic, which is recommended for older dogs to avoid the risk of complications with anesthesia. Sebaceous gland tumors that are not malignant may not be removed, unless they are troublesome to the dog.

Risk Factors

• Sebaceous gland tumors may occur and not cause any discomfort to the dog. However, those that cause symptoms may need to be removed. These symptoms may include tumors that bleed, tumors that itch and tumors that are in a bothersome location.

Considerations

• While most sebaceous gland tumors do not require treatment, your veterinarian may wish to biopsy the growth to be certain it is not malignant. There are two ways this may be done. First, your veterinarian may take a biopsy of cells from a tumor that has been removed, and examine them under a microscope, according to Petplace.com. Second, your veterinarian may perform a needle aspiration by placing a fine needle in the tumor and extracting a sample of cells for microscopic evaluation.