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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

What to know about metastatic mast cell tumors in dogs

By Ribeiro, Paula Reis et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2022·Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Pathological aspects of cutaneous mast cell tumors with metastases in 49 dogs.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A 9-year-old Golden Retriever was diagnosed with cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCT), which are a type of skin cancer in dogs. The tumors were found primarily in the groin area and had spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. The dog showed signs of swelling in the lymph nodes and spleen, which led to further testing. Unfortunately, the tumors were aggressive and classified as high-grade, indicating a poor prognosis. Treatment options may include surgery, chemotherapy, or other therapies, but the outcome can vary based on the extent of the disease.

People also search for: dog skin cancer symptoms · Golden Retriever mast cell tumor treatment · dog lymph node swelling causes

Abstract

Cutaneous mast cell tumor (MCT) is one of the most frequent cutaneous neoplasms of dogs and may vary from well-differentiated to aggressive tumors with metastasis. The authors retrospectively described the gross and histologic aspects of metastatic MCT in 49 dogs. Primary MCT was most commonly identified in the inguinal region (14/35; 40%), and at necropsy multiple, cutaneous nodules were frequently reported (23/49; 47%). All primary MCT were classified as high-grade neoplasms, and metastases involved the lymph nodes (47/49; 96%), spleen (33/49; 67%), liver (29/49; 59%), bone marrow (20/49; 41%), kidneys (16/49; 33%), and heart (14/49; 29%), while the lungs were less commonly affected (9/49; 18%). The main gross findings included lymphadenomegaly in 47 cases; splenomegaly in 28 cases, with splenic nodules in 13 dogs; hepatomegaly in 28 cases, with white pinpoint foci in 9 cases; nodules on the capsular surface of the kidneys in 9 dogs; and epicardial nodules in 6 cases. Histologically, the lymph nodes were largely obliterated by neoplastic mast cells, while in the spleen, neoplastic cells were multifocally scattered (16/33; 48%), arranged in nodules (10/33; 30%), or obliterated the parenchyma (9/33; 27%). In the liver, the neoplastic cells mainly infiltrated the sinusoids (24/29; 83%), but were also arranged in random nodules (10/29; 34%). Interstitial and nodular metastases were observed in the kidneys and the heart. Grossly unapparent metastases were common in the heart (6/14; 43%), kidneys (4/16; 25%), and lungs (6/9). KIT III and KIT II staining patterns were observed in 29 and 20 cases, respectively.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35876279/