Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with trouble breathing and fluid in chest due to bone cancer
By Mesquita, Luis et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2017·Department of Small Animal Clinical Science, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Neoplastic pleural effusion and intrathoracic metastasis of a scapular osteosarcoma in a dog: a multidisciplinary integrated diagnostic approach.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old female mixed-breed dog was brought in for breathing difficulties and fluid buildup in her chest that didn’t improve with standard treatments. After draining the fluid, tests showed it contained abnormal cells, and further imaging revealed a mass in her shoulder and multiple nodules in her chest. The tests confirmed that she had osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, which had spread to her lungs. Unfortunately, despite the thorough diagnostic approach, the prognosis for dogs with this condition is often poor, and treatment options may be limited.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · osteosarcoma in dogs · dog pleural effusion treatment
Abstract
A 10-year-old, female spayed mixed-breed or cross-bred dog was referred to the Small Animal Teaching Hospital of the University of Liverpool due to tachypnea, dyspnea, and pleural effusion not responding to diuretics and antibiotics. The chest was drained and cytology of the pleural fluid was consistent with a modified transudate with presence of atypical cells initially attributed to mesothelial hyperplasia and dysplasia. Computed tomography detected, in addition to the bilateral pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, multiple pleural and pulmonary nodules, and a mineralized and lytic mass in the left scapula. Imaging findings were suggestive of a primary bone tumor with intrathoracic metastasis. Cytology of the left scapular and pleural masses revealed a malignant neoplasm highly suggestive of osteosarcoma. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of a positive cytochemical reaction for alkaline phosphatase on prestained cytology slides. This finding prompted review of the initial interpretation of the pleural effusion cytology. The presence of neoplastic osteoblasts in the thoracic fluid was identified by a combination of cytochemistry, cell pellet immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy findings. In this report, a multidisciplinary integrated diagnostic approach was used to diagnose and confirm a neoplastic pleural effusion due to osteosarcoma metastasis in a dog.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28370186/