Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with worsening paralysis from spinal cancer and tissue death
By Nemoto, Yuki et al.·Published in Open veterinary journal·2023·Department of Veterinary Surgery, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Histiocytic sarcoma with spinal necrosis in a dog with progressing non-ambulatory tetraparesis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old male Labrador Retriever was brought in because he was losing the ability to walk and was showing weakness in all four legs. Imaging tests revealed a serious condition involving a tumor in his lungs and spine, which was causing damage to his spinal cord. Unfortunately, despite efforts to understand and treat his condition, the dog was euthanized due to the aggressive nature of the cancer, known as histiocytic sarcoma. This case highlights how quickly such tumors can affect a dog's mobility and overall health.
People also search for: dog weakness in legs · Labrador Retriever cancer symptoms · dog spinal cord tumor treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is an aggressive malignant neoplasm, and widespread metastasis occurs with a fatal outcome. HS involving the central nervous system is relatively uncommon. Spinal cord necrosis, a very rare condition, could be induced by ischemia or infarction. Here, we report a dog progressing non-ambulatory tetraparesis with spinal cord necrosis caused by HS. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 9-year-old male Labrador Retriever was presented with a progressing non-ambulatory tetraparesis. CT imaging revealed lysis of the spinous process of T7 and a ring-shaped lesion surrounding the soft tissue of lung fields. T2-weighted MRI showed the spinous processes of T6 to T8 as hyperintense, and the lesion infiltrated into the T7 vertebra and the spinal cord. After euthanasia, the final diagnosis upon necropsy was HS, which was observed in the lung, spinous process, thoracic cord, and the pulmonary hilar lymph node. Moreover, necrotic spots were spread widely through the thoracic spinal cord. CONCLUSION: This report outlines a case of canine HS in the lung, spinous process, thoracic cord, and pulmonary hilar lymph node. Ischemic deficit and necrosis of the thoracic spinal cord resulted from the compression of perivascular tumor cells, which rapidly led to progressive tetraparesis. Although the diagnosis was difficult, MRI and CT images helped determine the prognosis. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of canine HS with direct spinal cord involvement associated with spinal necrosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37026072/