Abstract
Canine oral melanoma (COM) is a highly aggressive tumour associated with poor prognosis due to metastasis and resistance to conventional anti-cancer therapies. As with human mucosal melanoma, the mutational landscape is predominated by copy number aberrations and chromosomal structural variants, but differences in study cohorts and/or tumour heterogeneity can lead to discordant results regarding the nature of specific genes affected. This review discusses somatic molecular alterations in COM that result from single nucleotide variations, copy number changes, chromosomal rearrangements, and/or dysregulation of small non-coding RNAs. A cross-species comparison highlights notable recurrent aberrations, and functionally grouping dysregulated proteins reveals unifying biological pathways that may be critical for oncogenesis and metastasis. Finally, potential therapeutic strategies are considered to target these pathways in canine patients, and the benefits of collaboration between science, medical, and veterinary communities are emphasised.
Highlights
Canine melanocytic neoplasms most frequently arise in the oral cavity and mucus membranes of the lips (79%), with cutaneous tumours (11%), digital or subungual (8%), and other sites (2%) being less common
This review focuses on canine oral melanoma (COM), a common diagnosis, in older dogs, and carrying a grave prognosis
The aim of this review is to present our current understanding of the molecular alterations that underlie COM
Summary
Canine melanocytic neoplasms most frequently arise in the oral cavity and mucus membranes of the lips (79%), with cutaneous tumours (11%), digital or subungual (8%), and other sites (2%) being less common. Together, they account for around 7% of all canine malignant neoplasms, forming the leading malignancy (35%) of the oral cavity [1]. This review focuses on canine oral melanoma (COM), a common diagnosis, in older dogs, and carrying a grave prognosis. There is no clear consensus regarding canine breeds predisposed to oral melanoma, with some studies highlighting breeds such as Poodles [2], Cocker Spaniels, and Golden Retrievers [3], while others find no overall breed predilection [4]. Current treatment modalities include radical surgical excision, radiotherapy, and/or systemic chemotherapy, but frequently with disappointing results [8,11]
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