Computed Tomographic Analysis of the Anatomical Characteristics of Canine Head Arteries for Transarterial Chemoembolization of Canine Oronasal Tumors

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has recently emerged as a new alternative and palliative treatment option for head and neck cancers in human medicine, with a few case reports in veterinary medicine also showing good outcomes for canine oronasal tumors. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the anatomical structures of canine head arteries using computed tomography angiography (CTA), focusing on the feeding arteries of oronasal tumors, as this information is essential for interventional procedures. This retrospective multicenter study used triple-phase CTA images of nasal tumors (n = 30), oral tumors (n = 31) (including one case of a caudal mandibular tumor with two tumors), and a control group (n = 51). Among the 100 feeding arteries identified in the 61 oronasal tumors, the descending palatine artery (27/45; 60%) had the highest prevalence in nasal tumors. In rostral maxillary tumors, the infraorbital artery (10/24; 41.7%) was identified as the major feeding artery, whereas in mandibular tumors, the facial artery was the most prevalent feeder in both the rostral (4/4; 100%) and caudal (6/7; 85.7%) locations. Of the 222 head arteries observed on CTA, all lingual and facial arteries originated separately. The mean diameters of the major head arteries in different groups were significantly and positively correlated with body weight. However, when comparing the diameters of the head arteries normalized to body weight between the tumor feeder group and the control group, no significant difference was observed. This study provided comprehensive information on canine head arteries, including the feeding arteries of oronasal tumors, which is important for preprocedural planning.