Evaluation of early diagnosis of bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma (BOSCC) by clinical, pathological and molecular methods

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of early diagnosis and surgical outcomes in determining the prognosis of BOSCC, which is frequently encountered in cattle and leads to significant economic losses. The immunohistochemical examinations of specimens revealed severe TNF-α expression, whereas the real-time PCR tests showed significant increases in IL-6 and TNF-α gene expressions. Among 56 cases that underwent surgery, 31 local excision, 19 enucleation, and 6 exenteration procedures were performed, and the cases were followed up for 2 years. Various wound site complications were observed in only 16.1% of the surgical cases. No relapse was observed in 76.8% of the cases, tumor relapse was observed between the 16th and 23rd months in 12.6%, and the rates of cattle that were removed from the herd due to postoperative complications within the first 3 months and at the 6th month were respectively 9% and 1.8%. While no complication or relapse was seen in the cases that were treated within 1-3 months, relapse was observed in those that were treated after 3 months (OR=0.93, 95% CI, p=0.014). In BOSCC, lesions treated surgically within the first 3 months have no complications and 2-year survival rates increase.