Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Two dogs with rare primary mast cell tumors in the chest
By Cartagena-Albertus, Juan Carlos et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2019·Northlands Vets., United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Presumptive primary intrathoracic mast cell tumours in two dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old German Shepherd was brought in for a persistent cough and a large mass on the chest wall, along with a small mass in the lung. Tests confirmed that the large mass was a mast cell tumor, and despite treatment with a medication called toceranib, the cough did not improve, leading to the dog's euthanasia. Similarly, a Maltese dog presented with chronic regurgitation and cough due to a large mass in the lung, which was also diagnosed as a mast cell tumor. Unfortunately, this dog also did not respond to toceranib and was euthanized after two months of treatment.
People also search for: dog cough treatment · mast cell tumor in dogs · toceranib for dog cancer · German Shepherd lung mass · Maltese regurgitation causes
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mast cell tumours are the most common cutaneous neoplasms in dogs. Other primary sites include visceral organs, such as the gastrointestinal tract, liver, or spleen, and the oral cavity. Frequent metastatic sites include the local lymph nodes, skin, spleen, liver and bone marrow. The thorax is rarely affected by metastatic disease and no such cases have been reported in dogs. Mast cell tumours are usually not considered as a differential diagnosis for lung and intrathoracic chest wall masses in dogs. Chest wall tumours can be primary tumours of the ribs and sternum, an invasion of adjacent tumours into the chest wall, and metastasis from distant tumours. CASES PRESENTATION: A German Shepherd dog presented with a history of persistent cough and a large mass involving the thoracic wall and a small round pulmonary mass. The dog had a history of mammary tumours that were surgically excised. Thoracoscopy revealed a thoracic wall mass involving the internal intercostal muscle and a small mass in the left cranial lung lobe. Cytology and histopathology of the intrathoracic mass confirmed the large mass as a mast cell tumour and the small mass as a carcinoma. Cytology of the sternal lymph nodes showed no involvement. The dog received toceranib for 3 months, which failed to alleviate persistent cough. Radiology indicated that the large mass had a partial response to toceranib. The dog was euthanasied. A Maltese dog presented with a history of chronic regurgitation and cough, and a large mass involving the left caudal lung lobe. Cytology and histopathology of mass confirmed a mast cell tumour. The dog received toceranib for 2 months. Radiology indicated that the large mass had no response to toceranib. The dog was euthanasied. Confirmation of lungs mast cell tumour and the absence of any other Mast cell tumour was achieved by postmortem examination. CONCLUSIONS: The cases discussed are two unusual presentations of intrathoracic mast cell tumours, in the absence of cutaneous mast cell tumours, in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31208404/