Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Liver tumor in dog turned cancerous after biopsy needle spread cells
By Jornet-Rius, Oriol et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2023·Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Needle tract seeding and malignant transformation of hepatocellular adenoma into well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old neutered female Golden Retriever was brought in because her liver enzyme levels were very high. An ultrasound showed a large mass on her liver, which was diagnosed as a benign liver tumor called hepatocellular adenoma after it was surgically removed. However, a year and a half later, a new mass appeared in her abdominal wall, which turned out to be a malignant liver tumor called hepatocellular carcinoma. This case highlights how a needle biopsy can sometimes lead to the spread of cancer cells and a change from a benign to a malignant tumor.
People also search for: dog liver tumor symptoms · Golden Retriever liver cancer treatment · why are my dog's liver enzymes high
Abstract
An 11-year-old neutered female Golden Retriever was referred for investigation of marked increases in liver enzyme activities. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a large pedunculated liver mass. Diagnosis of hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) was made when the mass was excised after a first unsuccessful attempt through ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy. One and a half years after presentation, a nodule embedded between muscles of the abdominal wall appeared. The mass was first diagnosed as a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through cytologic examination, which was later confirmed with histopathology. Ki 67 immunostaining of the abdominal wall nodule showed an increased immunoreactivity compared with the liver mass. Therefore, the present case documents the first needle-tract seeding of a hepatocellular epithelial tumor with possible malignant transformation of HCA into a well-differentiated HCC in a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37202832/