Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma
Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (FOSCC) is the most common oral neoplasia in cats. This malignant tumor is locally invasive, has a high mortality rate and its etiology is not yet known. In humans, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is associated with tobacco smoke, alcohol consumption and human papillomavirus infection.
Authors of this study provide a critical review about the potential etiologic factors of FOSCC, considering publications between 2000 and 2022. The team aimed to synthesize all available scientific evidence on this topic. Recommendations of the PRISMA statement and the Cochrane Collaboration were followed, and researchers using the PubMed database searched using the MeSH terms oral, mouth, lingual, labial, gingiva, carcinoma, squamous and feline. The selection process for eligible studies was based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria and the quality of the studies assessed.
The initial search resulted in 553 publications, with only 26 of these being included in the review. Sixteen studies were related to viral etiology and nine related to environmental factors such as exposure to tobacco smoke, ectoparasitic products, and the presence of oral comorbidities.
When evaluated, feline papillomavirus was detected in 16.2% of samples of FOSCC. In the three studies focused on exposure to tobacco smoke, 35.2% or 30 of 85 of cats with FOSCC had a history of this exposure. The consumption of canned food and the use of deworming collars were associated, in only one publication, with a risk of neoplasia increased by 4.7 and 5.3 times, respectively. Among 485 cats with FOSCC, 6.4% had dental and oral pathology (i.e., periodontal disease or feline chronic gingivostomatitis).
Researchers concluded that the present study demonstrates that the available evidence on the etiology of FOSCC is still limited. However, there has been increasing interest on this topic. To better understand the role of the possible etiological factors of this aggressive disease, and model for its human counterpart, large, prospective multi-institutional studies are needed.
Inês Sequeira, et al. “Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Critical Review of Etiologic Factors.” Vet Sci. 2022 Oct 11;9(10):558. doi: 10.3390/vetsci9100558.
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