Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with skin melanoma that spread to skull bone
By Ozana-Maria Hritcu et al.·Published in Veterinary Sciences·2023·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iasi University of Life Sciences Ion Ionescu de la Brad, Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, No.8, 700489 Iasi, Romania, CH·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Unusual Canine Cutaneous Melanoma Presenting Parietal Bone Metastasis: A Case Report
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old male mixed-breed dog was brought in for surgery to remove a skin tumor on his front leg. Four months later, he returned with swollen lymph nodes and severe breathing problems. Sadly, he was euthanized due to his worsening condition, and a necropsy revealed that the cancer had spread to his bones, lymph nodes, and other organs. This case highlights that skin tumors in dogs can sometimes behave aggressively and spread in ways that are not typical.
People also search for: dog skin tumor treatment · dog breathing problems · melanoma in dogs · dog cancer symptoms · mixed breed dog cancer spread
Abstract
Melanocytic tumour anatomic location is considered an important prognostic indicator. The cutaneous forms are generally considered benign and may show various biological behaviours. This work reports a rare case of canine cutaneous melanoma showing parietal bone metastasis. Bone invasion in melanocytic tumours is often described in oral or visceral melanomas, but not in cutaneous forms. The patient (dog, male, mixed breed, 12 years) was initially presented for the surgical removal of a cutaneous tumour located on the skin of the carpal region of the right forelimb. Four months after, the patient returned with enlarged lymph nodes and acute respiratory failure. The patient was euthanized due to a decline in physical condition. The necropsy showed metastases in the affected forelimb, regional lymph node, splanchnic organs, parietal bone and meninges. Histopathological examination of tumour tissue samples revealed a mixture of pigmented and non-pigmented spindle and epithelioid melanocytes, while according to immunohistochemistry, the tumours showed a strong immunopositivity for VEGF and MMP-10, and a moderate positivity for MMP-2 expression. This case shows that cutaneous melanocytic tumours may show an aggressive malignant form with positive immunohistochemical reactions for multiple invasiveness factors.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10040282