Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat develops vaccine-associated muscle cancer spreading to spine
By Chang, H-W et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2006·Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Vaccine-associated rhabdomyosarcoma with spinal epidural invasion and pulmonary metastasis in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old female domestic medium-haired cat developed a recurring deep mass on her back after having received rabies and five-in-one vaccines in the same area. The mass was found to be a vaccine-associated sarcoma, which is a type of cancer that can occur after vaccination. Unfortunately, the cat experienced hind limb paralysis and was euthanized two months later. During the examination after her passing, multiple tumors were discovered in her muscles and lungs, indicating that the cancer had spread.
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Abstract
A 7-year-old, female, domestic medium-haired cat had a recurrent deep dermal mass in the interscapular region after initial surgical removal 3 months earlier. The cat had received a killed rabies vaccine and a five-in-one vaccine in the same area about 2 months prior to the first surgery. The relapsed mass was diagnosed as vaccine-associated sarcoma. The cat was euthanized 2 months later because of hind limb paralysis. At necropsy, multiple, poorly demarcated, nodular masses were seen in the muscles around the shoulders, neck, and thoracic vertebrae. Pulmonary metastasis and spinal epidural invasion at T1-T3 with regional cord compression and malacia were observed. Microscopically, the masses consisted of interwoven bundles of spindle cells with prominent multinucleated giant cell formation. The neoplastic cells stained strongly positive for myoglobin, and moderately but variably positive for vimentin, desmin, and alpha- smooth muscle actin. Phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin staining revealed cytoplasmic striations in scattered tumor cells. The tumor was considered a vaccine-associated rhabdomyosarcoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16407487/