Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Acinar cell carcinoma of exocrine pancreas in two horses.
- Journal:
- Journal of comparative pathology
- Year:
- 2014
- Authors:
- de Brot, S et al.
- Affiliation:
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Two horses were brought in with vague symptoms that lasted for several weeks, and unfortunately, they were put to sleep because their condition was very serious. During the examination after they passed, the veterinarians found multiple small white lumps in their pancreas, which had spread to other areas like the liver and lungs. Under the microscope, the lumps were identified as cancerous cells, specifically a type called acinar cell carcinoma, which is related to the pancreas. Both horses had similar findings, but one had more noticeable features than the other. Sadly, the prognosis was poor, and the treatment options were not effective.
Abstract
Two horses were presented with non-specific clinical signs of several weeks' duration and were humanely destroyed due to a poor prognosis. At necropsy examination, both horses had multiple small, white nodules replacing pancreatic tissue and involving the serosal surface of the abdominal cavity, the liver and the lung. Microscopically, neoplastic cells were organized in acini and contained abundant (case 1) or sparse (horse 2) intracytoplasmic zymogen granules. Immunohistochemically, both tumours expressed amylase and pan-cytokeratin, but not insulin or neuron-specific enolase. In case 2, a low percentage of neoplastic cells expressed glucagon and synaptophysin. The presence of zymogen granules was confirmed in both cases by electron microscopy and occasional fibrillary or glucagon granules were observed in cases 1 and 2, respectively. A diagnosis of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma was established in both horses.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24572625/