Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hypercalcemia of Malignancy in a Dog Diagnosed With Cholangiocellular Carcinoma.
- Journal:
- Topics in companion animal medicine
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Martínez-Sogues, Laura et al.
- Affiliation:
- Hospital Clí · Spain
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old neutered male Golden Retriever was brought to the vet after losing weight over the past week and drinking and urinating a lot. Tests showed high levels of calcium in his blood, along with some kidney issues and very high fat levels. An ultrasound revealed several nodules in his liver, and further tests suggested he had a type of cancer called cholangiocellular carcinoma, which affects the bile ducts. He was hospitalized and treated with fluids and medications, which helped lower his calcium levels, but unfortunately, his condition worsened a month later, leading to his humane euthanasia. A postmortem exam confirmed the cancer diagnosis, marking this as the first known case of high calcium levels linked to this type of cancer in dogs.
Abstract
A 4-year-old, neutered male Golden Retriever was presented with a 1-week history of weight loss, polyuria, and polydipsia. The diagnostic workup showed an increased ionized calcium concentration, mild increase in serum creatinine and urea concentration, and severe hyperlipasemia. A complete abdominal ultrasound revealed multiple hepatic nodules. A cytological diagnosis of malignant epithelial neoplasia, highly suggestive of bile duct adenocarcinoma was made. In order to confirm the presumptive diagnosis of hypercalcemia of malignancy due to the presence of a hepatic neoplasia, serum parathormone-related peptide concentration was measured, and the result revealed an increased concentration. The dog was hospitalized and received supportive treatments consisting of intravenous furosemide and fluid therapy. After ruling out lymphoma and hypoadrenocorticism, oral prednisone was initiated and ionized calcium concentration decreased gradually down to normal concentration after 7 days of hospitalization. Chemotherapy with intravenous epirubicin was initiated based on the cytological diagnosis. One month after diagnosis and due to the worsening of its clinical condition, the dog was humanely euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed a cholangiocellular carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first report of malignant hypercalcemia associated with cholangiocellular carcinoma in a dog.
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: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31122681/