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| | Pet Health Topics from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20) |
 | | The behavior of mast cell tumors reflects their grade (a term used by pathologists and oncologists to describe such things as how-well differentiated a tumor is, how frequently it is dividing, how invasive to adjacent structures, and other criteria). |
 | | Mast cell tumors have 3 grades, with grade I being the least aggressive and least likely to spread to other organs (metastasize), and grade III being highly aggressive tumors with a high likelihood of metastasis; most grade II tumors tend not to metastasize, although they can do so. |
 | | For mast cell tumors that were not, or because of location, could not be completely removed, radiation therapy is often the best treatment for residual disease, although a more aggressive second surgery is possible for some dogs. |
| www.vetmed.wsu.edu /ClientED/mastCell.asp (933 words) |
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