Outcomes
Reasons for treatment failure
Prognosis
• Very guarded prognosis must be given for all
sarcoids as even benign looking lesions may
progress to aggressive forms whether obviously
traumatized or not.
• Treatment is invariably very difficult with varying
and inconsistent results.
• No case of sarcoid can be considered to be free of
the disease even following apparently successful
treatment.
Prepurchase examination
• Failure to identify and report sarcoids or lesions
that resemble them at prepurchase examination is
a common cause of litigation.
• Record all sarcoids in detail, numbers, types and
locations.
• If a diagnosis cannot be made with any confidence,
the prepurchase form MUST give at least a clinical
description of the lesion.
• Inform prospective purchaser of the implications
and give a true estimate of cost of treatment.
• Value of horse with sarcoids is usually decreased.
• Insurance companies can justifiably be very
aggressive about sarcoids! Prospective purchasers
must be informed that should they buy the horse,
sarcoids will not be covered for the life of the
horse.
• Never attempt to define duration of lesions - some
may erupt after years, others do not. It is far better to
simply state their existence and leave it at that. It is
not the responsibility of the veterinary surgeon to
advise purchase or otherwise - the responsibility is
to provide information upon which the purchaser
can base a sensible decision.
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Incomplete surgical excision → regrowth of tumor.
Inappropriate treatment.
Wound breakdown following surgical excision.
Development of satellite lesions.
Loss of function or poor cosmetic result.
Exacerbation of condition.
Further Reading
Publications
Refereed papers
• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Hollis A R & Berlato D (2017) Initial Experience with High
Dose Rate Brachytherapy of periorbital sarcoids in the horse.
Equine Vet EducWileyOnline.
• Compston P C, Turner T, Wylie C E & Payne R J (2016) Laser
surgery as a treatment for histologically confirmed sarcoids in
the horse. Equine Vet J 48 (4), 451-456 PubMed.
• Taylor S & Haldorson G (2013) A review of equine sarcoid.
Equine Vet Educ 25 (4), 210-216 WileyOnline.
• Stadler S et al (2011) Successful treatment of equine sarcoids by
topical aciclovir application. Vet Rec 168 (7), 187 PubMed.
• Barrelet A, Foote A & Littlewood J D (2010) Common equine
skin tumours. UK Vet 15(6), 9-17.
• Haralambus R et al (2010) Intralesional bovine papillomavirus
DNA loads reflect severity of equine sarcoid disease. Equine Vet
J 42 (4), 327-331 PubMed.
• Brandt S, Haralambus R, Schoster A, Kirnbauer R & Stanek C
(2008) Peripheral blood mononuclear cells represent a reservoir
of bovine papillomavirus DNA in sarcoid-affected equines. J
Gen Virol 89 (6), 1390-1395 PubMed.
• Brandt S et al (2008) A subset of equine sarcoids harbours BPV-
1 DNA in a complex with L1 major capsid protein. Virology 375
(2), 433-441 PubMed.
• Pilsworth R C & Knottenbelt D C (2007) Equine sarcoid. Equine
Vet Educ 19 (5), 260-262.
• Gobeil P, Gaoult E A, Campo M S, Gow J, Morgan I M & Nasir
L (2007) Equine sarcoids are not induced by an infectious cell
line. Equine Vet J 39 (2), 189-191 PubMed.
• Hewes C A & Sullins K (2006) Use of cisplatin-containing bio-
degradable beads for treatment of cutaneous neoplasia in equi-
• Equine Health Update •