Skin Tumors of the Dog and Cat
This archive record revisits Michael H. Goldschmidt and Frances S. Shofer’s 1992 book on canine and feline skin tumours, drawing on a large pathology submission series and placing its descriptive pathology in the context of modern veterinary oncology.
What the study did and found
The 1992 book “Skin tumors of the dog and cat” by M. H. Goldschmidt and F. S. Shofer was based on surgical pathology submissions to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The abstract reports that the laboratory received 65,000 canine specimens and 13,250 feline specimens between 1985 and 1990. Skin tumours and tumour-like lesions accounted for 45% of the dog submissions and 24% of the cat submissions. The book described numerous tumour types and summarised age, sex, anatomical site and breed predilections, alongside detailed histopathological features. Tables, graphs and photographs were used throughout. The abstract does not provide the exact denominator for every individual tumour type, so those broader submission percentages should not be interpreted as population incidence in all dogs or cats.
Why it is cited
The book continues to appear in veterinary dermatopathology and oncology literature as a reference for the morphology and classification of canine and feline skin neoplasms. Later publications cite specific sections when discussing entities such as epidermal, sebaceous, sweat-gland and melanocytic tumours.
Modern veterinary pathology has retained histopathology as a core diagnostic method while adding more standardised grading, immunohistochemistry and, in selected cases, molecular testing. Reviews of canine cutaneous round-cell neoplasms note that routine H&E morphology is often sufficient, but poorly differentiated tumours may require immunohistochemical or molecular markers. Contemporary consensus work has also refined prognostic interpretation for specific tumour groups, including canine mast-cell and melanocytic neoplasms. The 1992 descriptive data remain historically useful, but current diagnosis and prognosis should rely on updated classification criteria and tumour-specific evidence rather than the older text alone.
The topic today
Veterinary dermatopathology now combines morphology with immunophenotyping, grading systems and clinicopathological context. For some tumours, modern guidelines provide more detailed recommendations on diagnosis, prognostic features and reporting than were available in 1992. The original book nevertheless remains informative for understanding the breadth of skin tumours encountered in dogs and cats and for tracing how diagnostic terminology evolved. Its large referral-based pathology series is best read as a record of submitted specimens from one diagnostic setting, not as a direct estimate of tumour risk in the general pet population.