Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with malignant heart tumor causing breathing failure and death
By Kobayashi, Ryosuke et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2012·Research Institute of Biosciences, Japan·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A malignant and metastasizing feline cardiac ganglioneuroma.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old male neutered Japanese domestic cat was brought to the vet because he was not eating well, coughing, vomiting, and had diarrhea. An ultrasound showed a mass near his heart, and despite treatment, he sadly passed away from respiratory failure about a month later. A necropsy revealed a tumor in his heart that had spread to other organs, including the lungs and kidneys. This type of tumor, called a ganglioneuroma, is rare and can be aggressive. Unfortunately, the cat's condition was severe, and treatment options were limited.
People also search for: cat coughing and vomiting · cat heart tumor symptoms · treatment for cat not eating
Abstract
In the current study, a case of a cardiac ganglioneuroma with systemic metastases in a cat is described. A 12-year-old male neutered Japanese domestic cat was brought to a veterinary hospital for dysorexia, coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ultrasonography revealed a mass adjacent to the right atrium. The animal died of respiratory failure 1 month after the first visit to the hospital. At necropsy, an oval-shaped white mass 1.5 cm in diameter was observed within the right auricle. Diffusely, the right ventricle was infiltrated and thickened by the neoplastic lesion. Histologically, the mass was composed of 3 types of neoplastic cells: spindle cells, large polygonal cells, and small undifferentiated cells. Immunohistochemically, the neoplasia was positive for neuronal markers such as βIII tubulin, S-100a, and protein gene product 9.5. Ultrastructurally, the large polygonal cells were characterized by abundant cytoplasm that included compressed Golgi cisternae and rough endoplasmic reticula and abundant intermediate filaments. A discontinuous basement membrane surrounded the spindle cells. Metastatic foci were found in the lungs, kidney, pancreas, urinary bladder, and adrenal glands. The morphological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural characteristics of the tumor cells were consistent with those of ganglioneuroma. The tumor was presumed to originate from the intramural parasympathetic ganglia in the right atrium.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22362534/