Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with aortic body tumor spreading inside the heart
By Crawford-Jennings, Matthew I et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2025·Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Aortic body tumor with intracardiac metastasis in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old spayed female mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet with a swollen belly and diarrhea that started less than a day before. An ultrasound of her heart showed tumors around her heart and in the heart muscle itself. Unfortunately, a procedure to drain fluid around the heart didn’t help, and the owner chose to euthanize her. An autopsy revealed that she had a type of cancer called a neuroendocrine tumor, which had spread to her heart.
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Abstract
A 9-y-old, spayed female, non-brachycephalic mixed-breed dog was presented with progressive abdominal distension and diarrhea of <24 h duration. An echocardiogram revealed nodular masses in the pericardium and myocardium, particularly near the auricles. Diagnostic and therapeutic pericardiocentesis failed to improve the dog's status, and the owner elected euthanasia. The autopsy revealed numerous nodules within the pericardium, heart base, and myocardium of the left and right ventricles. Histopathology revealed the presence of a neuroendocrine tumor, immunopositive for chromogranin A and negative for synaptophysin and calcitonin, supporting the diagnosis of aortic body tumor with intracardiac metastasis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39773166/