Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Puppy with back leg weakness diagnosed with spinal round cell sarcoma
By Kristiansen, Katrine Vestergaard et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2025·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Lumbar round cell sarcoma in a 10-week-old rottweiler puppy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-week-old female Rottweiler puppy was brought to the vet because she suddenly started having trouble walking and showed signs of weakness in her back legs. After a neurological exam and an MRI, the vet found a tumor on her spine. Unfortunately, despite the diagnosis of a round cell sarcoma (a type of cancer), the puppy did not survive. This case highlights the need for careful examination and imaging in young dogs showing signs of spinal problems, as tumors can occur even at a young age.
People also search for: puppy weakness back legs · Rottweiler spinal tumor · round cell sarcoma in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Spinal neoplasms are sparsely documented in juvenile dogs. Case reports and small case series have described nephroblastomas, primitive neuroectodermal tumours, gliomas, certain sarcomas, and osteochondromas, but round cell sarcomas have not previously been documented. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report describes a 10-week-old female Rottweiler puppy with acute onset of progressive ataxia and pelvic limb lameness. Neurological examination localised a T3-L3 myelopathy and MRI revealed an ovoid, well-marginated mass extending from mid L3 to caudal L4 vertebrae. Post-mortem examination, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry confirmed a round cell sarcoma of extradural origin. CONCLUSION: Our case report stresses the importance of performing MRI even in very young individuals with acute progressive signs of spinal cord lesions. Clinicians should include spinal tumours as a differential diagnosis for juvenile canines with spinal neurological signs. Round cell sarcoma should be added to the list of spinal tumours in young dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40075489/