Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Young Golden Retriever with muscle cancer spreading to lungs and bone
By Yhee, Ji-Young et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2008·Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hematogenous metastasis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma originating from skeletal muscle in a young dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-month-old male Golden Retriever was brought to the vet for limping in his left front leg that had lasted for two months. During the examination, the vet found a mass in his left armpit and discovered that it had spread to the scapula and lungs through imaging tests. Unfortunately, the dog was diagnosed with a type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, which started in the muscle and invaded nearby areas. Sadly, despite the findings, the outcome was not favorable, as the cancer had already metastasized by the time of diagnosis.
People also search for: Golden Retriever limping · dog cancer symptoms · rhabdomyosarcoma in dogs · dog mass in armpit · dog lung nodules
Abstract
An 8-month-old, intact male Golden Retriever with a history of left forelimb lameness for 2 months was presented to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Konkuk University (Seoul, Korea). Results of a physical examination revealed a mass in the left axillary region. A thoracic radiography showed an osteolytic lesion in the scapula and the presence of a soft tissue density from the thoracic wall to the scapula. A computerized tomography revealed a mass invading into the scapula, and small nodules in the lung that suggested metastasis. At necropsy, a pale-yellow, irregular, firm, 8 x 10 x 5 cm mass extended from axillary region and destroyed the scapular. In addition, small nodules were noted in the lung. On microscopic examination, the mass consisted of round-to-oval cells, with eccentrically located hyperchromatic nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm in fibromyxoid stroma. Tumor cells were observed in blood vessels in the primary mass. Tumor cells strongly expressed vimentin, desmin, and myoglobin. In phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin staining, cross-striations were detected in rhabdomyoblasts. In periodic acid-Schiff reaction, only a few cells were detected. The diagnosis was primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the appendicular muscle of a young dog. The tumor presumably originated in the skeletal muscle of the limb, invaded into the adjacent scapular bone, and metastasized to the lung.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18319443/