title: The Swiss Canine Cancer Registry: a retrospective study on the occurrence of tumours in dogs in Switzerland from 1955 to 2008.
abstract: Diagnostic records are a key feature of any cancer epidemiology, prevention or control strategy for man and animals. Therefore, the information stored in human and animal cancer registries is essential for undertaking comparative epidemiological, pathogenic and therapeutic research. This study presents the Swiss Canine Cancer Registry, containing case data compiled between 1955 and 2008. The data consist of pathology diagnostic records issued by three veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Switzerland. The tumours were classified according to the guidelines of the International Classification of Oncology for Humans on the basis of tumour type, malignancy and body location. The dogs were classified according to breed, age, sex, neuter status and place of residence. The diagnostic data were correlated with data on the Swiss general dog population and the incidence of cancer in dogs was thus investigated. A total of 67,943 tumours were diagnosed in 121,963 dogs and 47.07% of these were malignant. The most common tumour location was the skin (37.05%), followed by mammary glands (23.55%) and soft tissue (13.66%). The most common tumour diagnoses were epithelial (38.45%), mesenchymal (35.10%) and lymphoid tumours (13.23%). The results are compared with data in other canine registries and similarities in tumour distribution and incidence are noted. It is hoped that this study will mark the beginning of continuous registration of dog tumours in Switzerland, which, in turn, will serve as a reference for research in the fields of animal and human oncology.
authors.affiliation: Collegium Helveticum, Universität Zürich und Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grüntzig
authors.affiliation: Collegium Helveticum, Universität Zürich und Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Graf
authors.affiliation: Departement Nutztiere Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hässig
authors.affiliation: Institut für Tierpathologie Universität Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Welle
authors.affiliation: Zyto-Histo Diagnostics, Freienstein, Switzerland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.affiliation: Institut für Veterinärpathologie Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lott
authors.affiliation: FocusedPublishing GmbH, CH-8332 Russikon, Switzerland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erni
authors.affiliation: Institut für Veterinärpathologie Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Schenker
authors.affiliation: Institut für Veterinärpathologie Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guscetti
authors.affiliation: Geographisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boo
authors.affiliation: Institut für Verkehrsplanung und Transportsysteme (IVT), ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland; Collegium Helveticum, Universität Zürich und Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Axhausen
authors.affiliation: Institut für Verkehrsplanung und Transportsysteme (IVT), ETHZ, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fabrikant
authors.affiliation: Collegium Helveticum, Universität Zürich und Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Folkers
authors.affiliation: Institut für Veterinärpathologie Universität Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; Collegium Helveticum, Universität Zürich und Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: apos@vetpath.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pospischil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: cancer registry; dog; epidemiology