Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog born with skin melanoma near ear that spread quickly
By Meyrer, Bruna et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2017·Hospital de Clí, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Congenital cutaneous melanoma in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A male mixed-breed puppy was born with a circular, ulcerated sore near his left ear that grew quickly. By just 12 days old, he developed multiple soft lumps around the ear. Sadly, the puppy was diagnosed with congenital melanoma, a type of skin cancer, which progressed rapidly. Despite any treatments, he passed away suddenly at six months old, and a postmortem exam revealed that the cancer had spread to his lungs, heart, and lymph nodes. This case highlights the aggressive nature of this rare condition in dogs.
People also search for: puppy skin lump · dog melanoma treatment · congenital skin cancer in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Melanocytic tumours are derived from melanocytes and are common in older dogs with dark pigmented skin. Primary congenital cutaneous melanoma has been described in domestic mammals although there are no reports in the dog. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: We describe a case of canine congenital cutaneous melanoma with rapid progression to metastasis and death. ANIMAL: A male, mixed breed dog was born with a circular ulcerated lesion near the left ear. By 12 days of age the lesion had grown significantly, with multiple soft, round nodules located at the outer base of the ear. METHODS AND RESULTS: Histopathological examination showed the proliferation of round and elongated neoplastic cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm that occasionally contained granules of melanin. Immunohistochemical analysis was positive for melan A, S-100 protein, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and vimentin, confirming the diagnosis of melanoma. The tumour progressed rapidly and at six months the dog died suddenly. Postmortem examination revealed pulmonary, cardiac and lymph node metastases. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a primary congenital melanoma in the dog. The neoplastic condition showed malignant behaviour and high metastatic potential.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27813258/