Radio Oncology

Please also take a look at the website of the Small Animal Internal Medicine Oncology Outpatient Clinic!

Oncology

Unfortunately, as our dogs and cats are living longer, there has also been a significant rise in the incidence of cancer. 45 per cent of all dogs over the age of 10 and 32 per cent of cats develop the disease.

In human medicine, radiotherapy is, alongside surgery, the most important primary treatment for cancer – it can now also be used for our patients at Vetmeduni Vienna, marking the first time it has been available in Austria.

Radiotherapy

Like surgery, radiotherapy is a form of local treatment. It enables precise and effective treatment of the tumour and is used primarily for cancers that cannot be surgically removed at all, or only partially.

The treatment is administered in several fractions to spare healthy tissue whilst still achieving an effective tumour dose. Furthermore, the radiation is delivered whilst the patient is under brief anaesthesia to ensure correct positioning.

Linear accelerator

The device used for radiotherapy is a modern linear accelerator. In this device, electrons are accelerated by a high-frequency electric field. These electrons can either be used directly to treat superficial tumours (skin and subcutaneous tumours), or they can generate high-energy X-rays, which are also suitable for treating deeper-seated tumours (brain tumours, tumours in the breast, abdomen or pelvic cavity).

Indications for primary radiotherapy or combined therapy in dogs and cats

Tumour	Treatment
Skin tumours , fibrosarcomas, mast cell tumours	Surgery/Radiotherapy/Chemotherapy
Bone tumours , osteosarcoma	Surgery/Radiotherapy/Chemotherapy
Tumours of the oral cavity Squamous cell carcinoma Oral melanoma	Surgery/Radiotherapy/Chemotherapy
Brain tumours Meningioma, glioma Pituitary macrotumours	Radiotherapy/Surgery
Tumours of the nasal cavity Adenocarcinomas Chondrosarcomas	Radiotherapy/Surgery

Modern cancer treatment

Modern tumour treatment combines surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and new medical treatment options.

The potential combination of all these forms of treatment enables tumours to be effectively combated, maximising survival time whilst maintaining the animal’s quality of life.

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