Sarcoids are skin tumors linked to papillomavirus infection. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

In a long-term study, Swiss researchers found that nearly half the small sarcoid tumors detected on their 3-year-old study horses regressed on their own over several years. Many others resolved with minimally invasive treatment methods.

“Our longitudinal study showed that it’s difficult to pronounce a prognosis on sarcoids,” said Fanny Berruex, DrMedVet., of the Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, Agroscope, and the University of Bern Veterinary School. “However, the good news is that we found that 62% of the cases in our study had resolved within five years and, actually, most of those had resolved spontaneously, without any treatment at all.”

Berruex presented her work at the 2017 Swiss Equine Research Day, held earlier this year in Avenches