Orthovoltage radiotherapy of acanthomatous epulides in 39 dogs.

Acanthomatous epulides in 39 dogs were treated with orthovoltage x-rays. The acanthomatous epulis recurred in only 3 dogs, 2 of which were successfully retreated with x-rays. Malignant tumors other than acanthomatous epulis developed at the site of the irradiated acanthomatous epulis in 7 of the dogs. Five of the tumors were squamous cell carcinoma, one was a fibrosarcoma, and one was an osteosarcoma. The range of survival times (1 to 102 months), mean survival time (38 months), median survival time (37 months), 1-year survival rate (85%), and 2-year survival rate (67%) were encouraging and suggested that the described treatment was satisfactory for acanthomatous epulides. Cause of death in most dogs was not related to the acanthomatous epulis.