Long-term postoperative effects of administration of allogeneic blood products in 104 dogs with hemangiosarcoma

Objective: To determine the influence of administering allogeneic blood products (ABP) on the progression of hemangiosarcoma in dogs.

Study design: Multi-institutional, retrospective study.

Sample population: One hundred four dogs with hemangiosarcoma that survived until postoperative discharge from the hospital.

Methods: Medical records of dogs that had been operated on for hemoangiosarcoma were reviewed for signalment, presence of a hemoabdomen, presence of metastatic disease, and whether the dog had received chemotherapy or Yunnan Baiyao. Data that were collected were compared between dogs that received perioperative ABP and those that did not. Disease-free interval was compared between groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to obtain univariate descriptive statistics for time to clinical decline. A multivariable Cox regression model was used to analyze association or effect of potential predictor variables.

Results: The median disease-free interval (DFI) was shorter in the 67 dogs that received a blood transfusion (76 days; range, 1-836) than in the 37 dogs that did not receive a blood transfusion (120 days; range, 38-916). According to the multivariable Cox regression model, administration of blood products (P = .04) and the presence of gross metastatic disease at the time of surgery (P < .01) shortened the DFI, whereas administration of Yunnan Baiyao (P = .01) prolonged the DFI.

Conclusion: Allogeneic blood product administration was associated with a shorter disease-free interval in this population. However, we could not demonstrate the association between blood products and shorter DFI because of confounding factors.

Clinical significance: Dogs that receive ABP at the time of surgical therapy for hemangiosarcoma may have accelerated disease progression compared with dogs that do not receive ABP.