Surgical Pathology of Tumors of Domestic Animals Volume 1

Book excerpt: This is the third edition of the International Histologic Classification of Skin Tumors of Domestic Animals. The original was published in 1974 by the World Health Organization and authored by E. Weiss and K. Frese. The second edition was published in 1998 and authored by M.H. Goldschmidt, R.W. Dunstan, A.A. Stannard, C. von Tscharner, E.J. Walder and J.A. Yager. Over the last 4 decades it has become clear that many tumor entities are unique for different animal species and a simple adaptation of the WHO classification of human tumors to animal tumors would not be sufficient to provide an accurate diagnosis and prognosis for tumors in domestic animals. While comparative pathology is still an integral part of veterinary tumor pathology, it has become clear that even entities that are morphologically similar between humans and animals may have a different immunophenotype, different biological behavior or a different response to various therapies. This third series will, therefore, be titled "Surgical Pathology of Tumors of Domestic Animals" and will now be published by the Davis-Thompson Foundation. In contrast to previous versions, this classification will also contain information on differential diagnoses and prognosis for each tumor entity. The focus of this series will be on tumors in dogs and cats and, to a lesser degree, horses: neoplasms in domestic livestock are rare and will only be addressed when unique entities require special mention. Similarly, tumors in ferrets, as the third most common pet, will be included as well. However, melanocytic tumors of domestic animals will be covered in a separate fascicle.