Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurological signs from spinal paraganglioma tumors in four dogs
By Hines, M E et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·1993·Department of Pathology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Metastasizing extra-adrenal paraganglioma with neurological signs in four dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four male dogs, all around 8 years old, were diagnosed with a type of tumor called extra-adrenal paraganglioma that had spread to their spines, causing pain and neurological issues. The tumors were found in different locations along the spine and were affecting the surrounding bone. This condition is rare because it specifically targeted the vertebrae in these dogs. Unfortunately, the study does not provide details on the treatments used or the outcomes for these dogs, but it highlights the importance of recognizing unusual symptoms like spinal pain and neurological signs in older male dogs.
People also search for: dog spine pain symptoms · neurological signs in dogs · paraganglioma in dogs treatment · dog tumor metastasis signs
Abstract
Extra-adrenal paragangliomas associated with vertebral pain and clinical neurological abnormalities as a result of metastasis to the vertebral column were diagnosed in four dogs of different breeds by light microscopy. All were males (two intact and two neutered) aged 8 years. Metastatic neoplasms occurred as extradural masses with associated bone lysis at vertebrae C4 (2 cases), T12-L1 (1 case) and L4 (1 case). The neoplastic cells exhibited similar morphology with little variation between cases. All neoplasms showed cytoplasmic granules after staining with the Churukian-Schenk modification of the Pascual argyrophil stain for neurosecretory granules or for membrane bound electron-dense granules (dense-core granules). On immunohistochemical examination the neoplastic cells gave positive results for neuron-specific enolase and negative results for chromogranin and epithelial membrane antigen. Multiple organ metastasis and metastasis to bone have been reported previously, but these cases were unusual due to the involvement of the spine as an apparent predilection site for metastasis, and the sex (male) and age of the animals affected.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8315056/