title: Survival time following hospital discharge in dogs with palliatively treated primary brain tumors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze survival time and identify prognostic factors associated with outcome following discharge in dogs with primary brain tumors treated palliatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  51 dogs with 5 histopathologic types of brain tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Owners with dogs examined from 2004 to 2008 were invited to participate if dogs had CT or MRI evidence of a brain mass that was histopathologically confirmed as a neoplasm upon death, dogs survived for ≥ 48 hours after hospital discharge, and treatments following discharge were limited to administration of prednisone or phenobarbital. Prognostic factors, including signalment, clinical signs (including duration), tumor type, tumor location, degree of peritumoral edema, lesion burden, and prescribed treatment, were evaluated. Survival time was estimated and animal- and tumor-specific variables evaluated as potential prognostic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median survival time in all dogs was 69 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 18 to 201 days). Multivariate analyses identified neuroanatomic location as the only significant prognostic variable, with the survival time of dogs with infratentorial tumors (n = 18) being significantly shorter (median, 28 days; 95% CI, 19 to 68 days) than survival time of dogs with supratentorial (33) tumors (median, 178 days; 95% CI, 119 to 270 days). Seizures were the most common clinical sign associated with supratentorial tumors (24/33 [73%]) and central vestibular dysfunction with infratentorial tumors (12/18).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dogs with palliatively treated primary brain tumors, particularly those with tumors in the cerebellum, pons, or medulla, had a poor prognosis. However, dogs with supratentorial tumors had survival times > 3 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. jrossmei@vt.edu
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rossmeisl
authors.forename: Jeryl C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Kurt L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Robertson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D011241:Prednisone; D010634:Phenobarbital