Melonoma

[TURBOBERT]

I have a 15 year old grey who has a smallish Melonoma under his tail - now about the size of a boil - along with other 'pimples'. I know about 80% of greys get these but is there anything at all that can be done at this early stage? If not - how quickly do they grow and what statistically will be his life span. He is a good friend and the thought of losing him is very upsetting!

 

[_daisy_]

my 12yo mare has them. She has half a dozen or so under her tail. THey have grown in size but not very quickly. I first found them about 4 years ago - some of them are now about the size of a pea, others are larger than that. I just keep an eye on them to make sure they arent increasing rapidly.
Think there is some treatment (will try and find it for you) but my vet was more inclined to think it was like opening pandoras box - you never know what will happen. Sometimes if they take a biopsy they can just multiply very quickly other times nothing happens. Im happy not to go for further treatment as long as they dont cause her any problems.
Shes now getting them on her face and body - only little ones. Found a new one the other day on the side of her face below her cheek bone. Shes also got them on her sides near her stifle area.

Dont worry about them but keep an eye on them. If you do get worried then get a vet to check them out.

 

[Loupride]

I posted about this a few months ago and the general concenous was to leave them alone. Pride has a number of them under his tail, I found them about 3 years ago and at that stage the vet couldnt even identify them as they were so small. He suspected melenomas and told me to keep an eye on them. I check them regurly and keep a note of their size, the biggest is probably only about 5mm in width.

I did enquire about treatment however my vet advised aginst it, it is thought that sometimes investigating can then increase the bloodflow and actually speed up growth. Also due to their situation, under the dock there is a high risk of infection.

So far they have not affected Pride is the slightest, other than the fact that he doesnt like to wear a tail guard as they rub.

I know exactly how you feel though, Its horrible to think that thay may affect their quality of life and there is simply nothing we as owners can do about it

however when I posted a few weeks ago I got loads of responses from people who have elderly greys with melenomas who are leading full and healthy lives

Just keep an eye on them and note the changes!

 

[_daisy_]

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1182693/an//page//vc/1

have a look at this thread (one of the many)

 

[Petrie]

Yes, I have also heard it's best to leave them alone otherwise they can be aggravated and may worsen.

 

[Tierra]

Leave them well alone

The *thought* of melanomas can be quite horrific but for the majority of cases, they really arent that much to worry about and, to be crude about it, there is more chance of your horse dying from something else than the melanomas.

Yes, its believed that about 80% of grey horses over the age of hmmm about 12 is it? have melanomas. Most often, if someone claims theirs doesnt, its more likely that they do, but they owner just doesnt know where

Melanomas can be tiny, weeny little things and they like skin folds, so spotting them is quite a chore in itself.

You can have them removed but it's highly recommended that you dont. Removal can, as someone else mentioned, result in an increased blood flow the the area which can result in an otherwise inactive melanoma to be very aggressive.

Yes, they do grow... albeit slowly and they seem to go through "phases". Alarm bells should ring if one has a very sudden growth spurt or seems to change appearance quickly. Think about if you had a mole on your body... they tell you to leave well alone unless it suddenly changes - it's the same reasoning with a melanoma. They tend to grow so slowly that the horse dies of old age / other conditions much sooner than the melanomas cause issue.

For the most part, they wont bother him. Removal can be necessary sometimes with those under the tail as they can interfere with the passing of droppings, but again, its not often they do this.

Don't pick at them, don't aggravate them and more importantly, try not to worry about them. If he gets any on other areas of his body, consider investing in a UV sheet for summer time as it's suggested that preventing sunlight shining on them can help.

But really... try not to worry! He's fine! And be greatful he IS grey.. otherwise it's a whole different ball game.

 

[TURBOBERT]

Thank you all for that. A friend with a 14 year old grey has just had major surgery and chemotherapy - fortunately she was insured (£3000) but no longer! She thinks he might only survive another two years or so. I would really like to keep my chap for another ten if possible as we get on so well.

 

[Tierra]

Im guessing the melanoma must have been found to be agressive and or internal

Internal melanomas are a different thing since they tend to interfere with the horse's system. You would *know* though if this was occuring. (E.g. in the stomach they can be characterised by frequent colicing... in the lung area they can cause a difficulty in breathing). My vet told me he much prefers melanomas to appear on greys than not to (because then he has to start worrying where exactly they are appearing!)

Please please be aware that its very few cases that go down this route. (Think about it logically, if it was always that severe, you'd see very few elder grey horses!)

There is no reason at all why "normal" development of melanomas wont give your horse another ten years and most likely, more than that.

If you want to be a tad pro-active about the situation, maintaining a healthy immune system is the best way to go about it. Theres a few supplements on the market designed to do this - although try and avoid echinea based supplements when you're considering long term use.

Ive read a few things on the net about people who apply various topical creams to melanomas.... but i would avoid this at all costs unless your vet clears it (you don't want to aggravate them!)

I know its upsetting to find them, but honestly, they aren't as bad as they sound. Im sure you're boy will be fine and seriously, where statistics are concerned, theres a lot of other things out there to worry about more than melanomas.

 

[TURBOBERT]

Thanks for that reassurance Tierra. Thank you all for the info. I feel much more optimistic

 

[Loupride]

I was just going to say the same to Tierra too

I got a similar response when I posted about this topic and I have to say reading her response amde me feel a whole lot better and made me alot more optimistic about it all.

So Thank You too

 

[Tierra]

You're both very welcome. Worry about the damn stable stains more than you do the melanomas

 

[jemima]

May I slightly hijack this?

What about melanoma in bay horses? I know it's much more rare and I've been told it's more likely to be aggressive.

 

[SpruceRI]

Hi
My Shetland has got melanomas on his muzzle and under his tail. The ones on his muzzle have been growing slowly for 8 years. They've never broken open or oozed, and his nose gets everywhere as he's very greedy! In the early years I thought he might be allergic to something in the field such as the buttercups as the growth grew noticeably in the summer months and not at all or even healed a bit in the winter. Now it doesn't but I think that's more to do with the general heat in the summer making it swell more.

He's got a few lumps under his tail too, but they don't bother him one iota. The growths on his face are causing him problems now as they are narrowing his nostrils. The vets say his melanomas are most unusual, and that we'll just have to see how things go.

 

[Tierra]

From what I understand melanomas in solid coloured horses carry a much poorer prognosis.

It's believed that the gene in grey horses that makes them more prone to melanomas is also the gene that protects them from the usual aggressive metastatis of the tumours.

Melanomas in humans are characterised by very aggressive metastasis (meaning that they spread aggresively through the body). Melanomas in solid coloured horses appear to operate in the same way.

So, with greys, finding a melanoma doesn't mean it will have more. Most greys do have multiple melanomas, but they arent actually spreading as such. With coloured horses, the tumours actually progress by spreading through the body (much in the same way with humans), including the internal organs. Melanomas of internal organs are, as im sure you can understand, extremely difficult to contemplate treating.

So yes, you're right, seeing melanomas in solid coloured horses is much more rare but they are also most likely to be aggressive

 

[Tierra]

Unfortunatly, that is one of the risks with melanomas around the nostrils.

Under the tail they have a certain amount of protection from the sun / insects etc. On the nose, you're quite limited as to what you can do to protect them in summer (and if they do break open, it can be rather messy)

And yes, they do grow... albeit slowly in greys... so round the nostrils can be a particularly awkward place to have them since they can eventually interfere with breathing.

There is a lot of testing of a drug going on in the US, known as Cimetidine. However, it isnt licensed for us to my knowledge in Europe due to the erratic results seen during tests. There are some case studies that claim use of this halted the progression of melanomas already showing signs of metastasis and that horses have remained clear from relapse for a number of years after (upto the present day). In other cases, the melanomas seemingly dont respond at all and the problem is... they dont seem to know why some do and some dont!

I dont know if there is any plans to license it over here but the person worth talking to about that would be your vet.

 

[jemima]

Thank you Tierra