Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with Addison's disease caused by breast cancer spread to adrenal
By Merino-Gutierrez, Virginia et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2020·From Ars Veterinary Hospital, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Addison's Disease Secondary to Bilateral Adrenal Gland Metastatic Mammary Carcinoma in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old female Siberian husky was brought to the vet after two weeks of increasing weakness, lack of appetite, and heavy panting. She had recently undergone surgery to remove a large tumor from her mammary gland. During her hospital stay, tests revealed she had Addison's disease, a condition where the adrenal glands don't produce enough hormones, likely due to cancer spreading from her mammary tumor. Unfortunately, despite treatment, her condition worsened, and she passed away just four days later. A postmortem exam confirmed that the cancer had spread to her adrenal glands and other areas of her body.
People also search for: dog Addison's disease symptoms · Siberian husky cancer treatment · mammary tumor in dogs
Abstract
A 12 yr old intact female Siberian husky was referred with a 2 wk history of progressive weakness, paraparesis, anorexia, and panting. A 4 cm diameter grade 3 mammary solid carcinoma involving the fifth right mammary gland had been removed 2 days prior to the current visit. While hospitalized, the dog was diagnosed with Addison's disease based on electrolyte disturbances and low serum cortisol levels following adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation test. An abdominal ultrasound revealed adrenal glands at the upper limit of normal size. Despite treatment, the dog deteriorated and died 4 days after presentation. A postmortem examination revealed a neoplastic infiltrate of epithelial malignant cells in both adrenal glands, popliteal lymph nodes, vertebral bodies, and paralumbar musculature, compatible with metastasis from mammary carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Addison's disease secondary to metastatic mammary carcinoma in a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31961213/