Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Jaw tumor diagnosis in a young dog with nosebleeds and sneezing
By Murakami, Mami et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2010·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cytologic, histologic, and immunohistochemical features of maxillofacial alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in a juvenile dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 15-month-old male dog was brought to the vet because he had a mass in his mouth and was experiencing nosebleeds and sneezing. After examining a sample from the mass, the vet found it was a type of cancer called alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a malignant tumor made up of abnormal round cells. The diagnosis was confirmed through various tests that showed specific markers in the cells. Unfortunately, this type of cancer can be aggressive, so it's important for pet owners to be aware of unusual growths in young dogs and seek veterinary care promptly.
People also search for: dog mouth mass · juvenile dog cancer symptoms · nosebleeds in dogs · rhabdomyosarcoma treatment in dogs
Abstract
A 15-month-old castrated male dog with a history of intermittent epistaxis and sneezing was admitted for the examination of a maxillofacial mass. An impression smear of a biopsy sample from the cauliflower-shaped gingival mass contained numerous round cells, 5-25 microm in diameter, which contained a moderate amount of clear to pale blue cytoplasm and resembled lymphoid cells. Mitotic figures were frequently observed. The mass was diagnosed as malignant round cell neoplasia. On histologic examination the tumor was composed of diffusely arranged, small, atypical round cells with a small amount of fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemically, the cells were negative for CD3, CD18, CD20, CD79alpha, cytokeratin, melan-A, chromogranin A, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and myoglobin but positive for vimentin and desmin. The cells also had strong positive nuclear staining for myogenin and MyoD1. A diagnosis of solid-pattern alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma was made on the basis of morphologic and immunohistochemical results. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of tumors in juvenile dogs, especially when cytologic findings reveal round, undifferentiated cells.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19645742/