Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Oral malignant melanoma with unusual muscle-like cells in a dog
By Yamaguchi, Maoko et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2026·School of Veterinary Medicine·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Oral malignant melanoma with rhabdoid cell differentiation and myogenic features in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old male mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with oral malignant melanoma, a type of cancer that can be tricky to identify due to its varied appearance. This particular tumor had two types of cells: the usual melanoma cells and some that looked different, resembling muscle cells. The presence of these different cell types made the diagnosis more complicated. The dog’s treatment plan would likely involve surgery and possibly other therapies, but the specifics of the treatment and outcome were not detailed in the study.
People also search for: dog oral melanoma symptoms · mixed-breed dog cancer treatment · signs of dog mouth tumors
Abstract
Malignant melanoma (MM) is difficult to diagnose because of its pleomorphic morphology and diverse protein profile. We describe a case of canine oral MM that exhibited rhabdoid cell differentiation. The tumor contained two cell types: typical MM cells and aggregated rhabdoid cells. Immunohistochemically, both types of neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin and desmin. Typical MM cells are positive for melanocytic markers; a subset of rhabdoid cells is negative for melanocytic markers and positive for myogenin. Consequently, the tumor was diagnosed as an MM with rhabdoid cell differentiation. This case highlights a potential diagnostic pitfall, as the morphological and immunohistochemical features may closely mimic those of collision tumors and myogenic tumors.
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/41813184/