Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hypoglycemia caused by mammary tumor in diabetic dog
By Rossi, Gabriele et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2010·Department of Veterinary Pathology, Italy·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Paraneoplastic hypoglycemia in a diabetic dog with an insulin growth factor-2-producing mammary carcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female Labrador Retriever with diabetes was experiencing severe low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) that was hard to manage with insulin. The problem worsened as a rapidly growing mammary tumor developed, which was producing a substance that caused the hypoglycemia. After stopping insulin, the dog's blood sugar levels remained dangerously low until the tumor was surgically removed. Following the surgery, her blood sugar levels returned to normal, indicating that the tumor was the cause of her hypoglycemic episodes.
People also search for: dog low blood sugar treatment · Labrador diabetes management · mammary tumor in dogs · hypoglycemia in diabetic dogs
Abstract
A 6-year-old intact female Labrador Retriever had diabetes mellitus, which had been difficult to control with insulin. The dog also had a solid ductal mammary carcinoma with very rapid growth, which was temporally related to onset of hypoglycemia. Eight months after initial diagnosis of diabetes, the dog had a hypoglycemic crisis. Insulin administration was stopped and serum glucose concentration returned to normal. Three months after discontinuing insulin, another hypoglycemic crisis occurred. During subsequent months, serum glucose concentrations remained at life-threatening levels (1.64-2.12 mmol/L, reference interval 4.44-6.66 mmol/L) simultaneously with an increase in the size of the mammary tumor, which reached a diameter of about 16 cm. At the time of surgery for removal of the tumor serum glucose concentration was 2.20 mmol/L and was then monitored every 3 hours after excision of the tumor. The glucose concentration continued to rise and reached 9.99 mmol/L 12 hours after the removal of the mammary tumor. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated expression of insulin growth factor-2 by tumor cells, which apparently had caused the hypoglycemia during tumor growth even in a diabetic dog. Hyperglycemia associated with diabetes was pronounced after excision of the tumor and had been masked by the paraneoplastic effect of the tumor.
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/21039714/