Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spinal cord tumors in cats: signs and MRI findings in 7 cases
By Hammond, James J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2014·Pieper Memorial Veterinary Center·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Feline spinal cord gliomas: Clinicopathologic and diagnostic features of seven cases.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of seven domestic cats, aged 4 to 12 years, were diagnosed with spinal cord tumors after showing symptoms like weakness or difficulty walking for 2 weeks to 3 months. MRI scans revealed tumors that appeared bright on certain images, and tests confirmed they were glial tumors, which are a type of brain tumor. Treatments were not detailed in the study, but understanding these tumors can help veterinarians provide better care for affected cats. This research highlights the rarity of such tumors in cats and their common location in the cervical spine.
People also search for: cat spinal cord tumor symptoms · cat weakness walking · cat MRI spinal cord tumor treatment
Abstract
Intraparenchymal spinal cord tumors in the cat are rarely reported and often as single case reports. In the current study, the clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histologic, and immunohistochemical features of 7 cases of intraparenchymal spinal cord tumors in the cat are described. All cats were domestic breed, ranged from 4 to 12 years of age (median 8 years), and included spayed females (5/7) and neutered males (2/7). The duration of clinical signs ranged from 2 weeks to 3 months. MRI revealed lesions that were hyperintense on T2-weighted images with variable contrast enhancement. All 7 tumors had histologic features consistent with glial origin: 3 were astrocytic (gemistocytic or fibrous), and 2 were oligoastrocytic. Single cases of oligodendroglioma and gliomatosis cerebri were also present in the study. Glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity was robust in the tumors that were predominately astrocytic, and the gliomatosis cerebri case had extensive BLA.36 and Iba1 immunoreactivity. Ki-67 immunoreactivity was variable and most abundant in the case of malignant oligoastrocytoma. The majority of peritumoral lymphocytes were CD3 positive. The current study expands upon the known reports of spinal cord neoplasia in the cat, confirms a caudal cervical segment predilection, and includes a report of gliomatosis cerebri in the spinal cord of a cat.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24821692/