Successful Treatment of Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumor Using Vincristine Sulfate

Transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) is a contagious neoplasm which is common among sexually active dogs, where sexual behaviour is not under control. There are several options for treatment of the tumor and the chemotherapy is the most commonly used. In our study, we investigated the effect of weekly vincristine sulfate administration with a dose of 0,025 mg/kg body weight for 4 weeks in 2 bitches with naturally occurring TVT. Tumors totally regressed in both of the cases and no recurrence was observed. Side effects as depression and decrease in appetite were observed in one of the dogs and leucopenia was observed in both of the bitches for three weeks after the first treatment. In conclusion, although the small numbers of the patients, results of our investigation confirm that vincristine sulfate is an effective chemotherapeutic agent for treatment of TVT in dogs.