Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with thymic carcinoma causing breathing trouble and cartilage
By Chambers, J K et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2016·Department of Veterinary Pathology, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Thymic Carcinoma with Cartilage Formation in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 11-year-old female Chihuahua was brought to the vet because she was having trouble breathing. A scan revealed a large mass in her chest, which was found to be tightly attached to nearby tissues during surgery. A biopsy showed that the mass was a type of cancer called thymic carcinoma, which had unusual cartilage growth. Unfortunately, this case highlights a rare form of cancer in dogs, and the treatment options for such tumors can be limited.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · Chihuahua cancer treatment · thymic carcinoma in dogs · dog respiratory distress causes
Abstract
An 11-year-old female Chihuahua exhibited respiratory distress and a computed tomography scan showed a large mass in the anterior thoracic cavity. During surgery, it was found that the mass was strongly adherent to surrounding tissue. A histopathological examination of a biopsy sample from the mass revealed proliferation of atypical epithelial cells and cartilage formation admixed with mature lymphocytes. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells, as well as the normal canine thymic epithelial cells, were positive for pan-cytokeratin (CK), CK5/6, CK19, p63 and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 6. Foci of cartilage tissue were formed in association with the neoplastic epithelial tissue. In the normal canine thymus, the subcapsular epithelial cells are positive for both CK19 and BMP6. These findings indicate that the cartilage element within the tumour developed from CK19-positive neoplastic epithelial cells, which were derived from the thymic subcapsular epithelium. This case represents a novel variant of canine thymic epithelial tumour that exhibits cartilage differentiation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26781228/