Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Aortic tumor causing blood clots in a German Shepherd dog
By Ranck, R S et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2008·Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Primary intimal aortic angiosarcoma in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old spayed female German Shepherd was brought to the vet because she was having serious health issues due to blood clots affecting multiple organs. After examination, the vet found a rare type of cancer called aortic angiosarcoma, which was causing a mass in her aorta that blocked blood flow. Unfortunately, this type of cancer is aggressive and can invade surrounding tissues. The dog’s condition was serious, and treatment options for such a rare cancer are limited.
People also search for: dog aortic angiosarcoma · German Shepherd cancer symptoms · dog blood clot treatment
Abstract
A primary intimal aortic angiosarcoma was diagnosed in a 4-year-old, spayed female German Shepherd that presented for complications of thromboembolic disease because of infarcts in multiple organs. On gross examination, aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta was associated with a friable, necrotic mass attached to the endothelial surface, which partially occluded the aortic lumen. On histologic examination, plump neoplastic spindle cells formed a plaque-like mass arising from the intima that merged with a large accumulation of fibrin and necrotic debris, and projected into the lumen. Neoplastic cells invaded periaortic vessels and were seen in some infarct-associated thromboemboli. Tumor cells expressed vimentin and CD31, with infrequent, patchy staining with factor VIII-related antigen; tumor cells were negative for cytokeratin and smooth-muscle actin. Aortic angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy in humans. This is the first description of a primary intimal aortic angiosarcoma in a dog, with immunohistochemical evidence of endothelial origin.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18487494/