Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Sternal lymph node swelling in dogs with cancer on CT scans
By Cordella, Alessia et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2022·Department of Medical Imaging of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sternal lymphadenopathy in dogs with malignancy in different localizations: A CT retrospective study of 60 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 60 dogs with swollen lymph nodes in the chest area (sternal lymphadenopathy) were studied to find out what types of cancer were causing this issue. The most common cancers were found in the chest and abdomen, with sarcomas being the most frequently diagnosed type. The study noted that dogs with sarcomas often showed specific imaging characteristics on CT scans, such as uneven contrast enhancement in the lymph nodes. Understanding these patterns can help veterinarians diagnose and treat dogs with similar symptoms more effectively.
People also search for: dog swollen lymph nodes cancer · sternal lymphadenopathy in dogs · dog sarcoma treatment · dog chest cancer symptoms
Abstract
Sternal lymph nodes (SLNs) drain a multitude of regions in dogs, including the pectoral and shoulder region, the thoracic wall and mammary glands, the mediastinum, thymus, diaphragm, and the ventral abdominal wall and peritoneal cavity. Neoplastic conditions of these regions can lead to sternal lymphadenopathy. The aim of this study was to assess the most frequent localizations of the primary neoplasia and the most frequent tumor types in dogs with sternal lymphadenopathy. Computed tomographic (CT) characteristics of SLNs in dogs with confirmed neoplasia were also described. For this single-center retrospective descriptive study, dogs with sternal lymphadenopathy and cytological or histological diagnosis of neoplasia were included. Sixty dogs fulfilled the inclusion criteria: 30 (50%) with thoracic neoplasia, 19 (32%) with abdominal neoplasia, 6 (10%) with neoplasia of the front limbs and 5 (8%) with generalized neoplasia. Based on the cytological/histological diagnosis of the primary neoplasia, 31/60 (52%) dogs presented with a sarcoma, 15/60 (25%) with carcinoma, and 14/60 (23%) with round cell tumor. The presence of heterogeneous contrast enhancement was more frequent in dogs with sarcoma, while the concomitant presence of other abnormal lymph nodes was more frequent in dogs with round cell neoplasia. Tumors of different types and in different location can result in sternal lymphadenopathy in dogs. The most frequent in this study were thoracic and abdominal neoplasia, followed by neoplasia of the shoulder region. Sarcoma was the most common tumor type detected in this study, and the main CT characteristic of the SLNs in case of sarcoma was heterogeneous contrast enhancement.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36337196/