Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with acute myelomonocytic leukemia and spinal cord damage
By Dappiano, E et al.·Published in Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde·2022·Department of Veterinary Science, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Acute myelomonocytic leukemia with multifocal manifestation and spinal cord infiltration in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male Golden Retriever was brought in after suddenly becoming unable to walk (paraplegia) and showing signs of fever and swollen lymph nodes. Blood tests revealed a serious condition called acute myelomonocytic leukemia, which is a type of cancer affecting blood cells. Unfortunately, despite the diagnosis, the dog's condition worsened, and he was euthanized due to a poor prognosis. A postmortem examination showed that the cancer had spread to multiple organs, including the spinal cord. This case highlights the importance of considering leukemia when dogs present with neurological symptoms.
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Abstract
Few cases of myelomonocytic leukemia associated with neurological signs have been described in dogs; none have been related to intraparenchymal spinal cord infiltration by neoplastic cells. This short communication describes a case of acute myelomonocytic leukemia subtype M4 in a dog with spinal cord infiltration. A 3-year-old male Golden Retriever was presented with a history of hyperthermia, lymphadenomegaly, leukocytosis with circulating blast cells, anemia and thrombocytopenia, and acute onset paraplegia. Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood by flow cytometry was consistent with acute myelomonocytic leukemia subtype M4. The dog was euthanized because of clinical deterioration and unfavourable prognosis. Postmortem examination revealed multi-organ neoplastic infiltration, including the spinal cord. To our knowledge, this is the first case of acute myelomonocytic leukemia subtype M4 in a dog with spinal cord infiltration. Our findings hold importance for including myelomonocytic leukemia in the differential diagnosis of patients with neurological signs due to spinal cord localisation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35383032/