Will castration prevent prostate cancer in this Labrador?

"Will castration prevent prostate cancer in my dog?" Mr Chan asked over the phone." I want my 7-month-old Labrador to live to a ripe old age."

We had never met before and telephone consultations are free of charge.

It is like asking an investment analyst who gets commission based on the transaction of equities as to whether he will recommend them as investment. Thus, this is a conflict-of-interest question for the veterinarian. If he says yes, he earns a fee provided he is not under priced by his competitors. If he says no, he has given free telephone consultation. 

"Removal of the testosterone hormones will make sure that the prostate gland does not hypertrophy or become cancerous in older dogs," I said. 

"In men over 50 years of age, the prostate gland becomes enlarged, making urination difficult or worse, become cancerous." Mr Chan said. He must have read the education pamphlets from the male menopause society and has applied this knowledge to his dog.

Dogs do suffer from enlargement (hypertrophy) of the prostate or prostatic cancer in old age too. Of course, female dogs don't have prostate and don't get this problem.

So, what should I advise Mr Chan now? He had acquired lots of information from the internet about dogs and decided that castration would definitely contribute to longievity of his Labrador. For starters, his dog will never get prostatic hypertrophy as the main production source of testosterone is shut down.

When the dog came, his lower part was inflamed as the dog had been licking the inguinal area. Several bacterial pimples had formed but it was not severely inflamed. 

Should I operate or wait for another day?  Postponement of the surgery would be ideal but this is not an ideal world. Mr Chan will have to take time off and spend money to bring the dog down again. He seemed to be one of those time-pressed Singaporeans.

The friendly Labrador was castrated. Well, half castrated as he had only one testicle. The other one was nowhere to be found under the skin. It would be inside the abdomen and a major surgery would be required to remove it.  This would cost more money.

What would Mr Chan say now? Does he want the dog to be operated another day as it was major surgery.

"I know what a cryptorchid is," Mr Chan said over the phone when I tried to elaborate on the surgical condition of having only one testicle.  He had read many books on dogs and these can be borrowed from the several branches of the National Library.  Nowadays, clients are very knowledgeable and sophisticated and vets have to be on their toes all the time.

We still had not met as I was out treating horses when he brought his dog in. So, I could not describe him but I guess he was a very kind father who wanted the dog to live to an old age as the dog was his present to his medical undergraduate son. No wonder he had access to medical books too.

We never met as I was out when he collected the dog and antibiotics to treat the skin infections. The dog was sutured with three absorbable sutures as I doubt I would see him again for stitch removal. In most veterinary cases, the patient seldom comes for stitch removal and this may be a common occurrence in city practices. 

"So, would my dog suffer from prostate cancer since he only had one testicle removed?" Mr Chan consulted me over the phone before coming to pick up his dog. 

I said, "Your Labrador is unlikely to get prostate cancer. The retained testicle inside the abdomen will be vestigial usually, that is, very small and will not produce the normal amounts of testosterone as in the intact dog.  In any case, not all intact dogs end up with prostate cancer. Your dog will have minimal chances of getting such cancers."

It was not a straight yes or no answer. 

"Did the doggy books you read advise you against buying cryptorchid dogs?" I enquired.




"I knew about cryptorchidism only after I have purchased the puppy," Mr Chan laughed. Maybe, one day, we will meet but I have no doubt that Mr Chan will look after his Labrador very well so that the dog lives to over 15 years of age. Maybe 20 years and by then, Singapore owners will be very knowledgeable about dogs.   

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