Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antemortem diagnosis of cholangiocellular carcinoma in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1992
- Authors:
- Mueller, P O et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Large Animal Medicine · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding was taken to a veterinary hospital because he was having intermittent fevers, was very tired, and had stopped eating. Tests showed he had anemia and high levels of a protein that indicates inflammation. Despite four days of antibiotic treatment, he didn't get better and developed swelling in his belly. Further imaging showed issues in his lungs and fluid buildup around them, and a procedure to look inside his chest found a mass near his heart. A biopsy of the liver and the mass suggested he had metastatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (a type of cancer affecting the bile ducts), and unfortunately, he was euthanized, with the diagnosis confirmed after his death.
Abstract
A 10-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding was admitted to the veterinary teaching hospital for evaluation of intermittent fever, lethargy, and anorexia. Initial laboratory analyses revealed anemia and hyperfibrinogenemia. Abdominocentesis and thoracentesis yielded fluid samples with high nucleated cell counts and total protein concentrations. The tentative diagnosis was nonseptic peritonitis. The horse did not improve after 4 days of antimicrobial treatment, and pitting edema of the ventral midline developed. Thoracic radiography and ultrasonography revealed consolidation of the ventral aspect of the lung fields and pleural effusion. Pleuroscopy of the right hemithorax revealed pleural effusion and a soft-tissue mass in the caudal portion of the mediastinum. Findings on biopsy of the liver and mediastinal mass led to a presumptive diagnosis of metastatic cholangiocellular carcinoma. The horse was euthanatized, and the diagnosis was confirmed at necropsy.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1399802/