DEFINITION/OVERVIEW

• Fibrosarcoma (FSA) is a mesenchymal tumor characterized by malignant spindle cells that produce varying amounts of collagen
  
• In dogs, FSA is the third most common oral malignancy (20% of all oral tumors)
  
• In cats, FSA is the second most common oral malignancy (5–15% or all oral tumors)

ETIOLOGY/PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

• Oral FSA arises most commonly in the gingiva; the palate can be affected, but usually due to extensive of a maxillary gingival tumor; FSA arises occasionally from the lips or cheek, and rarely the tongue
  
• Histologically low-grade, yet biologically high-grade FSAs have been described, particularly in golden retrievers and other large-breed dogs
  
  
  
  • Initially, on histopathology, these tumors were classified as benign lesions (nodular fasciitis, chronic inflammatory nodules, granulation tissue) or low-grade FSA
    
  • However, aggressive biological behavior including bone destruction (75%), lymph node metastasis (20%), and pulmonary metastasis (12%) is present in affected dogs
  
  
• Dogs/cats

SIGNALMENT/HISTORY

• Dogs and cats
  
• Overall, large-breed dogs are predisposed; golden retrievers are overrepresented specifically for the histologically low-grade but biologically high-grade FSA variant
  
• No breed predilections reports in cats
  
• A slight male predilection has been inconsistently reported in dogs
  
• Median age: 7 years (range: 1–16 years) in dogs and 10 years (range: 1–21 years) in cats
  
• Visible mass
  
• Hypersalivation
  
• Halitosis
  
• Dysphagia
  
• Bloody oral discharge
  
• Oral pain: head-shy behavior and/or decreased food intake despite showing interest in food
  
• Weight loss

CLINICAL FEATURES

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