Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Skin squamous cell cancer with spread in dogs and cats cases
By Dos Santos, Alex et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2023·Programa de Pó, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence and anatomopathological characterization of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas with regional and distant metastases in dogs and cats: 20 cases (1985-2020).
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old mixed-breed dog and a 12-year-old domestic shorthair cat were diagnosed with skin tumors called cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), which can spread to other parts of the body. In this study, researchers found that about 4.4% of these tumors in dogs and cats had spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs. The tumors were mostly found on the dog's abdomen and the cat's nose, with many cases linked to sun exposure. Treatment often involves surgery, and understanding the tumor's characteristics can help predict the risk of recurrence.
People also search for: dog skin cancer treatment · cat nasal tumor symptoms · squamous cell carcinoma in dogs and cats
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of regional and distant metastases from cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in dogs (n = 11) and cats (n = 9) in a retrospective case series over 36 years (1985-2020), as well as to characterize its macroscopic aspects (location and size), degree of differentiation (well, moderately and poorly differentiated [WD, MD and PD, respectively]) and the rate of cell proliferation, by counting the AgNORs. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to identify patterns of tumour migration and invasion (islands, ribbons, cords, small aggregates, individual cells [fusiform and amoeboid]) and to evaluate the intensity of desmoplasia and the amount of myofibroblasts. The prevalence of metastatic SCCs was 4.39% (21/478), being 3.8% in dog (12/309) and 5.3% in cat (9/169). Metastases affected lymph nodes in all dogs and 66% (6/9) of cats, and less frequently distant organs. Primary tumours predominantly affected the abdominal skin in dogs and the nasal planum in cats. Among the 20 cases, 52% were MDs, 34% were WDs, and 14% were PDs. Histological lesions suggestive of exposure to chronic solar radiation were present in 57% (8/14). The main patterns of tumour migration and invasion were islands for WD SCCs and individual cells for PD SCCs. MD SCCs had a mix of patterns. In cats, individual spindle cells were restricted to PDs. A marked desmoplastic reaction was more associated with PD SCCs and often with MDs. This study highlights that the prevalence of SCC metastases in dogs and cats is predominantly regional. The IHC was essential in the identification of individual fusiform keratinocytes, whose presence in surgical margins may represent a greater risk of recurrence. Although the presence of myofibroblasts was observed in all infiltrative and metastatic tumours, further studies evaluating these cells may be important to better understand their role in the tumour microenvironment of cutaneous SCCs with metastasis in dogs and cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36806427/