Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with brain tumor treated long-term with hydroxyurea
By Taesik Yun et al.·Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science·2021·Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea, CH·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Case Report: Long-Term Chemotherapy With Hydroxyurea and Prednisolone in a Cat With a Meningioma: Correlation of FDG Uptake and Tumor Grade Assessed by Histopathology and Expression of Ki-67 and p53
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 15.5-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was brought in for neurological issues, including confusion and difficulty walking. After an MRI, the vet suspected a brain tumor called a meningioma. The cat was treated with chemotherapy using hydroxyurea and prednisolone, which helped improve his alertness and coordination. Although the cat lived for 408 days after starting treatment, he ultimately passed away, and a postmortem confirmed the diagnosis of a grade 1 meningioma. This case suggests that chemotherapy can be a viable option for treating brain tumors in cats.
People also search for: cat brain tumor treatment · meningioma in cats · hydroxyurea for cats · cat neurological problems · cat chemotherapy side effects
Abstract
A 15.5-year-old, neutered, male, domestic shorthair cat was presented with neurologic dysfunctions. At presentation, an obtunded mental status and vestibular ataxia were identified. On neurologic examination, postural reactions were decreased-to-absent in all four limbs, and pupillary light reflexes showed bilaterally delayed results. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and a demarcated lesion was identified in the third ventricle. The cat was tentatively diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was suspected to be a meningioma. The cat was treated with hydroxyurea and prednisolone. Mental status was considered more alert, and ataxia improved following treatment. On the 106th day after the commencement of treatment, a 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) scan was performed. On the PET images, a hypermetabolic region was found in the lesion. The average standardized uptake value of FDG was 2.47, and the tumor-to-normal-tissue ratio was 1.25. The cat died 408 days following the commencement of treatment, and a grade 1 meningioma was confirmed by postmortem histopathology. Immunohistochemistry for Ki-67 and p53 was performed. The labeling indices of Ki-67 and p53 were 2.56 and 0%, respectively. This case shows that chemotherapy with hydroxyurea and prednisolone may be considered in the treatment of feline meningiomas. Furthermore, this is the first case describing the application of FDG-PET to visualize a naturally occurring meningioma in a cat.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.576839