Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Better detection of lymph node spread in dog mast cell tumors
By Sabattini, Silvia et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2022·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Longitudinal lymph node step-sectioning for the identification of metastatic disease in canine mast cell tumor.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a mast cell tumor (a type of skin cancer) underwent surgery to remove the tumor and nearby lymph nodes. Researchers found that using a special method to examine the lymph nodes in detail helped detect more cases of cancer spread compared to the standard method. In their study, they discovered that while the first examination of the lymph nodes was mostly accurate, checking additional sections improved the detection of early cancer spread. This means that for dogs with mast cell tumors, a more thorough examination of lymph nodes can provide better information about their condition and treatment options.
People also search for: dog mast cell tumor treatment · lymph node cancer in dogs · how to check for cancer in dogs
Abstract
Lymph node (LN) metastasis in canine mast cell tumor (MCT) can affect prognosis and postsurgical treatment recommendations; however, routine histological single-section examination may underestimate the incidence of metastases. This prospective study aimed at determining whether longitudinal step-sectioning of the entire LN allows for a more reliable detection of metastases. Dogs with MCT undergoing resection of the primary tumor and regional lymphadenectomy were enrolled. Formalin-fixed LNs were bisected longitudinally, both halves were embedded in paraffin and histological sections prepared at 200 μm steps. The nodal mast cells were classified according to the Weishaar classification. First-section evaluation (FSE; ie, examination of the first section obtained from the blocks) and whole LN step-section evaluation (SSE) were compared. Fifty-eight LNs were included. The median number of sections per LN was 6 (range, 3-28). FSE with toluidine blue (TB) revealed 27 (47%) nonmetastatic (HN0), 14 (24%) premetastatic (HN1), 9 (15%) early metastatic (HN2), and 8 (14%) overtly metastatic (HN3) LNs. SSE with TB resulted in upgrading the LN status in 2 cases (HN2 to HN3; HN0 to HN1). Evaluation of the first section plus an additional step-section resulted in 100% accuracy. Compared with SSE with TB, the accuracy of FSE with HE was 98% for HN3 LNs and 74% for HN2 LNs. FSE appears to reliably allow for the detection of LN metastasis in MCT, although examination of a further parallel section at a 200 μm step may increase the accuracy. A metachromatic stain is recommended for the identification of early metastases.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35400236/