Identification

• Canine joint cancer is also called synovial cell sarcoma. Malignant tumors grow from cells called synoviocytes in the joint capsule and tendon sheath.
  
  

Affected Breeds

• Joint cancer typically affects larger breeds. Most commonly involved are flat-coated and golden retrievers.
  
  

Origination of Tumors

• Any joint can be affected by synovial cell sarcoma. However, larger joints are usually where tumors appear. These include the stifle, elbow and shoulder joints.
  
  

Diagnosis

• Because a joint cancer tumor can be mistaken for another type of joint tumor, synovial cell sarcoma is diagnosed with immunohistochemistry, which localizes tissue cell proteins with antibodies to distinguish the tumor as cancer.
  
  

Treatment

• The most used treatment method for joint cancer is limb amputation because of all the soft tissue sarcomas, this has the highest risk of metastasizing, or spreading to other parts of the body. Statistically, 32 percent of dogs have metastasis upon diagnosis, and 54 percent have metastasis at death.
  
  

Prognosis

• Metastasis cuts the survival time from 36 months to 6 months. Also, dogs who undergo limb amputation live twice as long as dogs who only have local surgery.