Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Do cats with skin tumors get lymph node cancer?
By Arz, Raphael et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2023·Clinic for Small Animal Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Lymph node metastasis in feline cutaneous low-grade mast cell tumours.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 17 cats with low-grade skin tumors called mast cell tumors (MCTs) underwent surgery to remove both the tumors and nearby lymph nodes. During the procedure, it was found that 12 of the 30 lymph nodes removed showed signs of cancer spread, meaning that about 59% of these cats had metastatic lymph nodes. This finding suggests that even low-grade MCTs can spread to lymph nodes more often than previously thought. The study highlights the importance of checking lymph nodes during surgery for better treatment planning.
People also search for: cat skin tumor treatment · feline mast cell tumor lymph nodes · cat cancer spread to lymph nodes
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study aimed to determine the incidence of nodal metastatic disease in cats affected by low-grade cutaneous mast cell tumours (MCTs) in our study population. METHODS: The clinical records of two centres were retrospectively searched for cats with cutaneous MCTs that had undergone lymphadenectomy of enlarged and non-enlarged lymph nodes. All primary tumours were histologically reviewed by two experienced pathologists and graded as high- or low-grade based on the grading system for feline cutaneous MCT. We graded the lymph nodes based on the grading scheme used for canine MCTs and considered HN2 and HN3 nodes to be metastatic. The number of patients with nodal metastasis was calculated. RESULTS: We identified 17 cats with cutaneous MCT resection and concurrent lymphadenectomy. All 21 MCTs were graded as low grade and 30 nodes were removed, with 12 being considered early or overtly metastatic (HN2 or HN3, respectively). Based on nodal status, 10/17 (59%) cats were affected by nodal metastasis in our population. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In contrast to previous reports, high percentage of cats with cutaneous MCTs in which lymphadenectomy was performed were presented with metastatic lymph nodes. The clinical relevance of this finding and a potential benefit of lymphadenectomy must be determined in future studies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36638145/