Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with pineal gland tumor causing neck pain and head tilt
By Williams, Jonathan M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2009·Department of Veterinary Pathology, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Papillary tumor of the pineal region of a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male Beagle showed signs of head tilt, neck pain, and unusual movements in his front legs. After imaging tests, the vet suspected a brain tumor near the pineal gland, which controls various functions in the body. Unfortunately, the prognosis was poor, and the dog was euthanized. A necropsy confirmed the presence of a rare tumor in the brain.
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Abstract
A 3-year-old, intact, male Beagle dog developed clinical signs of pleurothotonus and altered head position to the right, neck pain, nystagmus, hyperreflexia of the left forelimb, and hyperextension of both forelimbs. Magnetic resonance imaging enabled a tentative diagnosis of thalamic neoplasia with incidental hydromyelia at the level of the second cervical vertebra. The animal was euthanatized due to the poor prognosis, and a necropsy was performed. A large, well-demarcated, nonencapsulated, and focally infiltrative mass was present in the approximate location of, and effacing, the pineal gland. The mass was composed of densely packed polyhedral neoplastic cells that exhibited epithelial characteristics, such as intercellular junctions, and contained carbohydrate granules and occasionally melanin granules. Immunohistology confirmed that neoplastic cells expressed neuron-specific enolase and, in a small proportion, cytokeratin. These combined findings led to the diagnosis of a papillary tumor of the pineal region, a tumor not previously described in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19901302/