Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with unique spinal tumor causing back leg weakness and MRI changes
By Korff, Courtney P et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2023·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Unique cytologic and imaging features of a lumbosacral oligodendroglioma in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old male domestic longhaired cat was brought in because he was having trouble using his back legs, a condition known as paraparesis. An MRI showed a mass in his spine that was likely a tumor. Despite treatment with medications like prednisolone and cytarabine, his condition worsened over time. Surgery was attempted to remove the tumor, but the findings suggested it was a high-grade oligodendroglioma, a type of brain tumor. Unfortunately, the cat was euthanized during the procedure due to the severity of his condition.
People also search for: cat back leg weakness · cat spinal tumor treatment · cat paraparesis causes
Abstract
A 12-y-old castrated male domestic longhaired cat had progressive paraparesis and neurolocalization of L4-S3. MRI revealed a circumscribed intradural-extraparenchymal mass from L5 to S1 that was T2 and short tau inversion recovery hyperintense and strongly contrast-enhancing. Cytologic interpretation of a blind fine-needle aspirate obtained through the L5-L6 space was a tumor of probable mesenchymal origin. A pair of suspect neoplastic cells was seen on a cytocentrifuged preparation of the atlanto-occipital CSF sample, despite a normal nucleated cell count (0 × 10/L) and total protein (0.11 g/L) with only 3 RBCs × 10/L. Clinical signs progressed despite increasing doses of prednisolone and cytarabine arabinoside. Repeat MRI on day 162 demonstrated tumor progression from L4 to Cd2 vertebral segments with intraparenchymal extension. Surgical tumor debulking was attempted, but an L4-S1 dorsal laminectomy revealed diffusely abnormal neuroparenchyma. Intraoperative cryosection favored lymphoma, and the cat was euthanized intraoperatively 163 d following presentation. Postmortem examination was performed, and the final diagnosis was a high-grade oligodendroglioma. This case illustrates the cytologic, cryosection, and MRI features of a unique clinical presentation of oligodendroglioma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37010018/