Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
MRI and CT features of cat brain tumors with skull thickening
By Edwards, Michael R et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2024·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Magnetic resonance and computed tomographic imaging characteristics and potential molecular mechanisms of feline meningioma associated calvarial hyperostosis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 27 cats with brain tumors called meningiomas were studied to understand a related condition known as calvarial hyperostosis, which is a thickening of the skull. The researchers looked at various factors, including imaging results and tumor characteristics, but found no significant differences between cats with and without this skull thickening. There was a slight trend suggesting that cats with calvarial hyperostosis had higher levels of a protein called IL-6, which might be linked to tumor behavior. While some cats showed signs of tumor invasion into the bone, more research is needed to clarify these findings and their importance for treatment.
People also search for: cat brain tumor symptoms · meningioma treatment in cats · calvarial hyperostosis in cats
Abstract
Meningiomas are the most common feline primary brain tumours, and calvarial hyperostosis (CH) is frequently documented in association with this neoplastic entity. The clinical significance of and mechanisms driving the formation of CH in cats with meningiomas are poorly understood, although tumour invasion into the skull and tumour production of cytokines and enzymes have been implicated as causes of CH in humans. This retrospective study investigated relationships between signalment, MRI or CT imaging features, histopathologic tumour characteristics, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzyme concentrations, tumour expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and progression free survival times (PFS) following surgical treatment in 27 cats with meningiomas with (n = 15) or without (n = 12) evidence of CH. No significant differences in breed, age, sex, body weight, tumour grade, tumour volume, peritumoral edema burden, ALP isoenzyme concentrations, tumour Ki-67 labelling indices or MMP-2 or MMP-9 expression and activity, or PFS were noted between cats with or without CH. There was a trend towards higher serum (p = .06) and intratumoral (p = .07) concentrations of IL-6 in cats with CH, but these comparisons were not statistically significant. Histologic evidence of tumour invasion into bone was observed in 5/12 (42%) with CH and in no (0/6) cats without CH, although this was not statistically significant (p = .07). Tumour invasion into bone and tumour production of IL-6 may contribute to the formation of meningioma associated CH in cats, although larger studies are required to further substantiate these findings and determine their clinical relevance.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38332673/