Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with kidney cancer showing high white blood cell count
By Petterino, Claudio et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2011·Department of Public Health, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Paraneoplastic leukocytosis in a dog with a renal carcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old male German Shepherd was brought in because he had been experiencing blood in his urine for three months. The dog was also found to have low red blood cell counts and other blood abnormalities. After imaging tests showed a large, irregular mass on his right kidney, the vet performed surgery to remove the kidney. Unfortunately, the dog passed away about four months later, likely due to complications from the kidney cancer. This case highlights how certain tumors can affect blood cell counts in dogs.
People also search for: dog blood in urine · German Shepherd kidney cancer · dog surgery for kidney tumor
Abstract
A 7-year-old male German Shepherd dog in poor body condition had a 3-month history of intermittent hematuria. Nonregenerative anemia, mild leukocytosis, marked hypoalbuminemia, and hematuria were observed. Subsequently, marked neutrophilia and moderate monocytosis were noted; anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hematuria persisted; and the dog developed disseminated intravascular coagulation. Ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen revealed the presence of an enlarged and irregularly shaped right kidney with a large area of cavitation, and a nephrectomy was performed 30 days after initial examination. Cytologic examination of fine-needle aspirates and imprints of the right kidney revealed a neoplastic cell population suggestive of renal carcinoma. The histopathologic diagnosis was chromophobic cystic-papillary renal carcinoma. The tumor cells expressed granulocytic/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), detected by immunohistochemical staining, and elaboration of GM-CSF by the tumor may have mediated the leukocytosis in this dog. Following excision of the tumor, neutrophil and monocyte counts were only mildly increased. The dog died 135 days after initial presentation, and a necropsy was not permitted. Paraneoplastic neutrophilic leukocytosis is an uncommon finding and may be caused by elaboration of CSF by neoplastic cells.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21291490/