Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Merkel cell skin tumor diagnosed in a 17-year-old cat
By Ozaki, Kiyokazu & Narama, Isao·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2009·Department of Pathology, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Merkel cell carcinoma in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 17-year-old spayed female Japanese domestic cat was brought to the vet because of a noticeable lump on her right side. After examining the mass, the vet found it was a type of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma. This cancer can be tricky to diagnose, but tests showed specific markers that helped confirm it. Unfortunately, the abstract does not provide information on the treatment or outcome for this cat.
People also search for: cat skin lump · Merkel cell carcinoma in cats · cat cancer diagnosis · treatment for cat skin tumors
Abstract
A 17-year-old spayed female Japanese domestic cat presented with a solitary cutaneous mass in the right thoracic area. Histopathologically, the mass consisted mainly of round tumor cells that had infiltrated throughout the dermis and deep subcutaneous tissue. The proliferating pattern of tumor cells was solid but also trabecular or cord-like in some areas, and lined with small cells resembling mature lymphocytes or basal cells. The tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin 20 and synaptophysin. The positive reaction for cytokeratin 20 showed localized to diffuse pattern. This is the first report describing now cytokeratin 20 was clearly beneficial for the differential diagnosis of feline Merkel cell carcinoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19721365/