Lipoma and Liposarcoma in the Dog: Fatty Tumors
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Updated: May 15th, 2024
Summary
Is that soft squishy lump on your dog something to worry about? It depends.
Many times dog lovers will arrive in my hospital and point out that their canine companion has a bump. They are soft, kind of like very firm jello. “Doesn’t seem to be causing any pain,” they say.
Hmmm. Well, it could be a “fatty” tumor. This is simply a tumor made out of fat. Yes, a big glob of fat, the same stuff that makes us chubby.
Some clients have used natural means to help their dogs with these tumors. I have had my clients say they have had luck with curcumin given by mouth. Curcumin is a part of the spice turmeric. In The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, I wrote about this bioflavonoid. It can be purchased as an ingredient in Apocaps, and also by itself as a sole agent.
Many dog lovers have heard of fatty tumors, and have been told by their vets that there is nothing to worry about. And many times, they are right.
Not every time, though.
Some Fatty Tumors Are Cancers
Here’s why: first of all, not every soft tumor is a “fatty” tumor. Remember mast cell tumors, the Great Imitators? Some mast cell tumors are aggressive, life-threatening cancers. And they can feel just like a benign fatty tumor.
Your vet can differentiate between a fatty tumor and a mast cell tumor with a simple fine needle aspirate. This is an easy outpatient procedure where the vet takes a sample with a needle and sends it to a pathologist. Many of us will review the slide right in house.
Another soft gushy tumor, especially on the limbs, in called a hemangiopericytoma. This is an unfriendly tumor, folks.
Because two dangerous tumors can look like fatty tumors (lipomas) I recommend that all such tumors get aspirated.
Some Fatty Tumors Are Dangerous In Other Ways
Secondly, not every tumor made out of fat is truly benign. Most are, and they are called lipomas. However, a small portion of them grow aggressively. They invade surrounding tissue. They often grow fairly quickly, over months, and expand. These fast growing lipomas have crossed the line and become what are called liposarcomas.
Get the Dog Cancer Survival Guide to learn more on how veterinarians diagnose and stage cancer in Chapter 9
The reason it matters is that they can become quite large. And you remove them and they will often regrow, since they are difficult to remove. You think you got ’em, and they come back.
Liposarcomas are not good news. So again, if you have a rapidly growing, fatty tumor, get it out. You might be dealing with a liposarcoma, and they can be tough. Have the vet biopsy the edge, and make sure they include adjacent muscle, or the path folks may complain they don’t have enough data to make a call.
Best to all,
Dr Dressler
Dr. Demian Dressler is internationally recognized as “the dog cancer vet” because of his innovations in the field of dog cancer management, and the popularity of his blog here at Dog Cancer Blog. The owner of South Shore Veterinary Care, a full-service veterinary hospital in Maui, Hawaii, Dr. Dressler studied Animal Physiology and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis before earning his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. After practicing at Killewald Animal Hospital in Amherst, New York, he returned to his home state, Hawaii, to practice at the East Honolulu Pet Hospital before heading home to Maui to open his own hospital. Dr. Dressler consults both dog lovers and veterinary professionals, and is sought after as a speaker on topics ranging from the links between lifestyle choices and disease, nutrition and cancer, and animal ethics. His television appearances include “Ask the Vet” segments on local news programs. He is the author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide: Full Spectrum Treatments to Optimize Your Dog’s Life Quality and Longevity. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Avian Veterinarians, the National Animal Supplement Council and CORE (Comparative Orthopedic Research Evaluation). He is also an advisory board member for Pacific Primate Sanctuary.
Dear Dr. Dressler
Im writing you for a consult as all this people did because of a cancer. Less than a year ago I lost my 2yr old dog because of a mass cell tumor level 3. Now i have my 13yrs old dog with something like a lyposarcoma. She present something like a empty mass with a hard cover. It was removed like 3 months ago. In the last month a new mass appear like the one removed but there is a new one close to the leg and the hips in the left side but it is so big that is taking all her interior body. The mass is compleatly external and radiographys present no methastasis to the organs. The biopsy results should be this week here, but im asking if there is any treatment available since because of her age she is very old and im worried if she could tolerate. The mass is so big that it dificults her to walk a little , she is now in prednisolone again for 15 days.
Please, is my second dog with cancer, and only survival.
…i have pictures of the mass if you want to see it i can send them to you by email.
p.d. My dad is veterinarian but he only works with cows, we ask 5 veterinarians in Puerto Rico and no one has seen never something even close to that big mass
🙁
Thanks!!!
I am very sorry to hear this news Glorimel.
You need to find out what kind of cancer your dog has. The treatments are all different. You will know when the biopsy report returns. You should read the Guide, download the diet pdf on the top of this page and start the special diet while you wait and read. Once the information is in hand you can find out about statistics you need to help make your decision.
Stay in touch,
Dr Dressler
My female blk lab/shepard mix has a growth the size of a large marshmallow on top of her left hind paw. It was all of a sudden “there” about the size of a nickle and now in 3 wks it is much bigger. It doesn’t seem to hurt her. The vet says he doesn’t know what it is and if it gets bigger or breaks open, it should then be removed. I don’t want her under anestesia at 11 1/2 yrs old if I can prevent it. Do you have any ideas?
I have a 10 year old blue dobie who has numerous fatty tumors. I had one large and fast growing one removed on the side of his leg. Now there are so many more all over his body. It seems as if they grow daily. The vet had done a biospy on the first few and said they were just fatty tumors. But he is getting so many so quickly I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions.
Hi,
my dog was bitten by other dog he had wounds on his thigh……..the wounds healed
in three weeks but on the forth week he developed a soft jello like lump on the side of his rib cage….he is not feeling any pain even when i touch it, it’s been two weeks now and it’s not growing any bigger it’s still the same size….what could it be? plz help.
Dear Nosipho,
it is important for you to get your dog to see a vet! Could be a seroma (fluid effusion), abcess, hematoma, or other issue. Please get your dog proper medical care to resolve this issue, at least get it checked out!
Best
Dr D
Hah, curcumin was new to me! I have had dogs with multiple lipomas and also I have them. There’s probably no connection but what is supposed to work for dogs might aswell work for humans. We are currently trying to find alternative methods to treat or even cure lipomas in our community lipoma board. Some dogs have dozens of lipomas, as do people, so surgery isn’t always a real possibility.
Hi Dr. D.,
Our 5 year old male Australian Shepherd mix is undergoing treatment for a highly aggressive tumor under his pelvis on the right side with involvement of the sublumbar lymph nodes. A needle biopsy and subsequent large biopsy have so far been relatively inconclusive in determining exactly what we’re dealing with. At first look, it was diagnosed as lymphoma, but IHC and PCR ruled that out. They then suspected it to be histiocytic, but the oncologists disagreed with the pathology reports. The larger biopsy revealed a tumor of about 80% fibroblasts and collagen with pockets of histiocytes, lymphocytes and adipose tissue – it appears benign but clearly isn’t. We started chemo 10 days ago (doxorubacin) and within 3 days the tumor had decreased in size by half (after increasing 5x in the subsequent 2 weeks). The current theory from the most recent pathology is that we’re dealing with a carcinoma, but it’s still mostly guesswork.
Then 8 days after the first round of doxy, a lump appeared on the outside of his right rear leg. It came out of nowhere, and hasn’t changed at all in size, shape or consistency since it appeared. It’s directly under a large, fatty mole that he’s had for the 3 years we’ve had him. We had an aspiration done today and the vet said it appears to be mostly adipose tissue and is probably a lipoma. He sent the sample to the pathologist just in case. It doesn’t appear to be related to the existing tumor, but the timing makes me wonder if something else could be going on. If it is a liposarcoma, do those typically respond to doxyrubacin? Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks-
Dear Dr. Dessler,
My six year old female lab/corgy mix has a lipoma on her right side, near her back. I am quite sure that it has doubled in size since I first noticed it about six months ago. It has been checked by a vet, and is not cancerous. It does not seem to bother her. But – it is really large, and I am concerned that it will keep growing and growing. So – Can a lipoma continue to grow and grow? And – If it is surgically removed, what are the chances that it will just grow back?
Sincerely,
Neal Kreisler
Dear Kim Dolan,
I am sorry to know your dog was likely diagnosed with lymphoma. When I noticed lumps under my dog’s jaw, I took him in and the vet told me it was 99% lymphoma. Our vet found swollen lymph nodes at my dog’s back legs too. I think vets make the diagnosis based on their education and experiences.
Biopsy will confim if it is cancer. I hope the report will come back negative.
However, if unfortunately it is lymphoma, there are several chemo options you can choose. If all depends on your financial condition, your dog’s age & health condition, as well as your expectation from the treatment. Dr. Dressler’s Guide is a good easy read, which offers lots of information on conventional treatments, supplements, cancer diets and alternatives.
Prednisone will help reduce the lump size and make your dog feel more comfiortable, but it does very little cancer-killing. In fact, using prednisone before chemo may reduce the effectiveness of the future chemo treatments. Dr. Dressler mentioned this point in his post: https://www.dogcancerblog.com/blog/why-rescue-chemotherapy-is-not-as-good/
My dog started taking prednisone before chemo as well. If I had known this earlier, I would have held off until we started chemo. Please also spend some time reading all the posts Dr. Dressler wrote in his blog. You will find them very helpful.
Best,
Kathy
My dog Winston who is 13 years old, a Winton Terrier Old English Mix with a lot of energy has a grapefruit size hard lump under the right Jaw on his Neck. In one day it has gone from golf ball size to Grapefruit size.. the Vet sent me home with some cortizone tablets to give my dog twice a day… This is to reduce the lump… He told me this lump is most likely Cancer… and he would have to cut it out… That really scares me… The reports are not back so how can he tell me it is cancer????
very informative thanks u all so much for all ur information
🙂
Dr D
My 10 year old yellow labrador’s left rear leg has become viryually solid. My vet suggests nothing be done due to her age, He has given her meloxicam but says there is no telling what the problem is without surgery which he is not overly confident she will survive. Have you ever heard of such a condition? Thank you.
Dear Tim,
I am not sure I would give up so fast. Did he discuss biopsy or a fine needle aspirate to see if there are indeed cancer cells within the growth? I have operated on many 10 year old dogs with general anesthesia without problems. Would it be an idea to get a second opinion, just to be sure? If it turns out to be a tumor, I would suggest reading the Guide– it will help walk you through these kinds of decisions. I hope this helps,
D
Just when I thought I had read every website, forum etc I found this. I have a 7-8 year old golden who developed a lipoma on his front limb. After several tests and ultrasounds with my local vet, I took him to the area Veterinary School and believed it to be an infiltrative lipoma. They recommended a CT scan followed by surgery (possibly an amputation). Because of distance I had the CT done locally and they felt there were clean margins and did surgery. Surgery went well and the biopsy came back as a regular fatty lipoma with no signs of it being infiltrative. All went well for about 9 months and I noticed it looked like it was back. He just had an MRI last week and now it no longer has clean margins and appears to be infiltrative. Surgery will not be able to remove all the tumor and it will likely be back and debilitating within 6 months. I think amputation is an option as is radiation. Has anyone had any experience with this type of lipoma?
Thank U!