Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Splenic stromal sarcoma in dogs after spleen removal outcomes
By Wittenberns, Brittany M et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2021·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine Non-Angiogenic, Non-Myogenic Splenic Stromal Sarcoma: a Retrospective Clinicopathological Analysis and Investigation of Podoplanin as a Marker of Tumour Histogenesis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old Golden Retriever was diagnosed with a splenic tumor after showing signs of lethargy and a swollen abdomen. The veterinarian performed a splenectomy (removal of the spleen) and found it to be a type of tumor called splenic stromal sarcoma. Unfortunately, dogs with this type of tumor had a shorter survival time compared to those with benign tumors, especially if the tumor showed a high number of dividing cells. The study suggests that testing for specific markers in the tumor tissue can help determine the best treatment options and improve outcomes for affected dogs.
People also search for: dog splenic tumor symptoms · Golden Retriever spleen surgery recovery · splenic sarcoma treatment in dogs
Abstract
Splenic stromal sarcomas are rarely reported tumours that were previously grouped as non-angiomatous, non-lymphomatous mesenchymal neoplasms of the canine spleen. Highly variable survival times have been reported probably due to their heterogeneous nature. The purpose of this study was to assess the outcome and prognostic factors in dogs with splenic stromal sarcoma after treatment by splenectomy. Clinical data were collected retrospectively and histopathology was reviewed for 47 patients. Histological classification, based on morphology in haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections, in conjunction with immunolabelling of macrophage scavenger receptor-A (CD204), desmin, factor VIII-related antigen and smooth muscle actin ,yielded diagnoses of undifferentiated stromal sarcoma (n = 22), complex nodular hyperplasia (CNH, n = 9), sarcoma arising from benign complex nodular hyperplasia (n = 3), histiocytic sarcoma (n = 3), haemangiosarcoma (n = 1) and leiomyosarcoma (n = 1). Four samples were excluded from analysis due to extensive necrosis. An anti-podoplanin (PDPN) antibody was validated on canine tissue and used to assess expression of this protein as a potential indicator of the tissue of origin of the neoplasms (28/42 tumours were positive). There was a statistically significant difference in survival time between patients with stromal sarcoma (sarcoma from benign CNH and undifferentiated stromal sarcoma) and CNH (178 d versus 637 d, respectively; P = 0.027). Dogs with stromal sarcomas and high mitotic count (≥9 per 10 high-power fields) had a significantly shorter survival time (67 d versus 439 d; P = 0.01). Clinical diagnosis of splenic tumours should include evaluation for the presence of benign nodular hyperplasia morphology and immunohistochemistry to exclude more aggressive malignancies where adjuvant therapy is recommended. As in humans, PDPN may be an effective marker for stromal sarcomas of the canine spleen and immunopositivity suggests a fibroblastic reticular or follicular dendritic cell origin.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34686271/