Investigation of the incidence of transmissible veneral tumor in dogs by cytological examination

In the present study, the incidence of Transmissible Venereal Tumor (TVT) was investigated in 255 female dogs with different breeds, ages and weights in Eskisehir. The relationship between tumor and various factors was examined. TVT was diagnosed by the clinical appearance of the tumor and mainly the exfoliative cytological results. Vaginal smears were painted with Gimsa staining. The typical TVT cells, polymorphic nuclear leukocytes (PMN), erythrocytes, parabasal, intermediate, nuclear and nuclear superficial cells were classified. Dogs were grouped according to their ages, breeds, live weights, cyclic period and season. In cytology, TVT cells were observed in 44 dogs (17.25%), and only 14 (5.49%) of them had clinically TVT lesions. Thirty (11.76 %) of dogs had TVT cells but not having TVT lesions. Dog ages, breeds, cyclic periods and season were found to have no effect on TVT lesions and TVT cells. The dogs with low live weight had a high rate of TVT cell density (p <0.05) than dogs with heavy weight. It was observed that the density of erythrocytes was higher in TVT lesion positive cases (p<0.0001). The intensity of PMNs was found to be higher in TVT cell positive cases than the negative ones (p <0.01). As a result, the dogs having no lesions could be infected with TVT. Dogs should be examined at certain periods not only clinically, but also cytologically, to determine whether TVT cells are present. This method can be an easy way to find and treat TVT lesion-free but infected dogs at an early time.