Description: A mammary tumor is a tumor originating in the mammary gland. It is a common finding in older female dogs and cats that are not spayed, but they are found in other animals as well. The mammary glands in dogs and cats are associated with their nipples and extend from the underside of the chest to the groin on both sides of the midline. There are many differences between mammary tumors in animals and breast cancer in humans, including tumor type, malignancy, and treatment options. The prevalence in dogs is about three times that of women. In dogs, mammary tumors are the second most common tumor (after skin tumors) over all and the most common tumor in female dogs. The lifetime risk of intact (not spayed) female dogs to develop mammary tumors has been estimated to be about 25 percent, with a much lower risk (about 1 percent) in male dogs and a risk in cats about half that of dogs.
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