title: Oral malignant melanoma - the effect of coarse fractionation radiotherapy alone or with adjuvant carboplatin therapy.
abstract: Abstract A retrospective study was undertaken of dogs presented to the Animal Health Trust for treatment of oral malignant melanoma, without radiographic evidence of pulmonary metastases. Group 1 (n = 13) received radiotherapy of the primary and any lymph node metastases (4 weekly fractions of 9 Gy); and group 2 (n = 15) were treated the same but additionally received between two and six doses carboplatin at 300 mg m(-2) every 3 weeks. Median survival times for the two groups were 307 and 286 days, respectively (P > 0.05). In addition, carboplatin therapy did not significantly reduce the proportion of dogs dying due to metastases (three from group 1 and four from group 2). We found no evidence of a beneficial effect of carboplatin therapy over radiotherapy alone.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Small Animal Studies, Animal Health Trust, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blackwood
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maglennon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pattinson
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sparkes