Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
MRI shows canine insulinomas bright on T2 and same on T1 images
By Walczak, Raelyn et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2019·Diagnostic Imaging·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine insulinomas appear hyperintense on MRI T2-weighted images and isointense on T1-weighted images.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Golden Retriever was brought in for symptoms suggesting a pancreatic insulinoma, which is a type of tumor that can cause low blood sugar. The dog underwent an MRI, which showed the tumor as bright on certain images, helping the vet locate it. Surgery confirmed the diagnosis, and the tumor was removed, but three out of the four dogs in the study had metastases, meaning the cancer had spread. This case highlights the importance of MRI in diagnosing insulinomas in dogs, as it can help identify the tumor even when it's small.
People also search for: dog insulinoma symptoms · Golden Retriever pancreatic tumor · dog MRI for insulinoma treatment
Abstract
Clinical and imaging diagnosis of canine insulinomas has proven difficult due to nonspecific clinical signs and the small size of these tumors. The aim of this retrospective case series study was to describe MRI findings in a group of dogs with pancreatic insulinomas. Included dogs were presented for suspected pancreatic insulinoma, MRI was used to assist with localization of the primary lesion, and the diagnosis was confirmed with surgical exploratory laparotomy and histopathology. The MRI studies for each dog were retrieved and the following data were recorded: T1-weighted and T2-weighted signal intensities, type of contrast enhancement, size and location of the primary lesion, and characteristics of metastatic lesions (if present). A total of four dogs were sampled. In all patients, the insulinoma displayed high-intensity signal on T2-weighted fat saturation images, similar to human studies. On postcontrast T1-weighted fat saturation images, the tumors were primarily isointense to normal pancreatic tissue, in contrast to human studies where a low-intensity signal is typically identified. Abnormal islet tissue was detected with MRI in all four dogs and metastases were identified in three dogs. Variations in the MRI appearance of primary and metastatic lesions were identified and could have been related to the variation of tissue composition, including the presence of neoplastic cells, hemorrhage, and fibrovascular stroma, and to the transformation of this tissue throughout the disease process.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30654407/