ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2019
The Use of Chemotherapy to Prolong the Life of Dogs Suffering from Cancer: The Ethical Dilemma.
Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Oncolytic Viruses for Cancer Therapy in Dogs.Viruses · 2026Pooled it
- Plant extracts and phytochemicals in canine and feline mammary cancer models: current evidence and comparative perspectives.Veterinary research communications · 2026Review
- Veterinary pilot study on focused ultrasound treatment of spontaneous canine and feline tumours: technical and feasibility assessment.Journal of ultrasound · 2025Article
- Review
- Establishment of primary cell cultures from canine mammary gland malignant tumours: a preliminary study.Journal of veterinary research · 2025Article
- Pet cancer cases and patterns of treatment at a Spanish veterinary teaching hospital: a retrospective study from 2015 to 2024.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Human immuno-therapeutics for cancer treatment of dogs?Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
- Canine Euthanasia's Trend Analysis during Thirty Years (1990-2020) in Italy: A Veterinary Hospital as Case Study.Veterinary sciences · 2024Article
- Survey of Animal Neoplastic Cases Diagnosed in Nigerian Veterinary Teaching Hospitals, 2000-2017.Veterinary sciences · 2024Article
- Palliative care for cancer patients in veterinary medicine.Veterinarni medicina · 2023Review
- Killing Kira, Letting Tom Go?-An Empirical Study on Intuitions Regarding End-of-Life Decisions in Companion Animals and Humans.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Non-Exosomal and Exosome-Derived miRNAs as Promising Biomarkers in Canine Mammary Cancer.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Dying like a dog: the convergence of concepts of a good death in human and veterinary medicine.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Despite the emergence some years ago of oncology as a veterinary specialty, there has been very little in the way of ethical debate on the use of chemotherapy in dogs. The purpose of this article is to undertake an ethical analysis to critically examine the use of chemotherapy to prolong the life of dogs suffering from cancer. If dogs have no concept of the future and are likely to suffer at least some adverse effects with such treatments, consideration should be given as to whether it is ethical and in the animal's best interests to use chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic drugs are mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and may be irritant. Furthermore, chemotherapy may involve multiple trips to the veterinarian, multiple procedures and periods in isolation. Cancer-associated pain has been shown to be under-diagnosed and pet owners overestimate the effects of chemotherapy on treatment survival time. Of additional concern is the public health risks associated with chemotherapeutic drugs. As chemotherapy is not generally considered curative, it is in effect palliative care. However, palliative care may not be in the best interests of a terminally ill animal. As the specialty of veterinary oncology continues to grow and as the use of chemotherapy becomes more commonplace in the treatment of animals with cancer, it is imperative that there is an ongoing ethical debate on the use of chemotherapy in animals.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.