Pathological and immunohistochemical aspects of primary hepatobiliary neoplasms in cats

Abstract

Primary hepatobiliary neoplasms (PHN) are uncommon in cats, and originate in hepatocytes, intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts, mesenchymal cells, and cells of neuroendocrine origin. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of PHN in cats diagnosed in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil, for a period of 17 years, determining their epidemiological, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical aspects. Necropsy reports of 2.090 cats were analyzed, 125 were diagnosed with primary hepatobiliary diseases, of which 15 were cases of PHN, representing 12% of the specific hepatobiliary conditions and 0.7% of the necropsies. All PHN were malignant, of which 93.3% had epithelial origin and 6.7% presented mesenchymal origin. Cholangiocarcinoma was the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm, followed by hepatocellular carcinoma and hemangiosarcoma. In general, cats with no defined breed were the most affected. Concerning sex, 60% were females and 40% males. Age ranged from five to 18 years, with a mean age of 10.5 years (median of ten years). Grossly, cholangiocarcinoma and hemangiosarcoma were multinodular and hepatocellular carcinoma was massive. Microscopically, cholangiocarcinomas were arranged in acini and ducts, whereas hepatocellular carcinomas were arranged in solid sheets or trabeculae. On immunohistochemistry, cholangiocarcinomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, and hemangiosarcomas were positive for the antibodies CK 7, Hep Par-1, and vimentin and von Willebrand factor, respectively.

Feline primary nonhematopoietic malignant liver tumours: A multicenter retrospective study (2000–2021)

“…There is no consensus about the most common malignant hepatobiliary tumour in cats. Whereas an older study reported that hepatocellular carcinomas were the most frequent, 4 more recent studies described bile duct carcinomas as the most common PMLT in cats 2,6,7,10 . Massive was the most common morphological manifestation in all histopathological groups.…”

“…According to these limited data, PMLT are most commonly of epithelial origin, and bile duct carcinoma is the most common tumour type. Furthermore, PMLT also include hepatocellular carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma and mesenchymal liver tumours 2,6,7,10,11 . There is scarce data on survival times in cats, but the prognosis after surgery is generally considered poor, as 86% of cats in a study on PMLT 2 and 82.4% of cats with hepatobiliary neuroendocrine carcinomas 9 died or were euthanized before discharge from the hospital.…”

“…Furthermore, PMLT also include hepatocellular carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma and mesenchymal liver tumours. 2,6,7,10,11 There is scarce data on survival times in cats, but the prognosis after surgery is generally considered poor, as 86% of cats in a study on PMLT 2 and 82.4% of cats with hepatobiliary neuroendocrine carcinomas 9 died or were euthanized before discharge from the hospital. Another study on cats with visceral hemangiosarcoma (which most commonly affected the liver in that study) reported a poor post-surgical MST of 77 days.…”

Clinical and pathological aspects of progressive hyperphosphatasemia associated with vacuolar hepatopathy and hepatocellular carcinoma in a Scottish Terrier bitch

“…Additionally, scattered neoplastic cells were observed within the medullary sinus of the pancreaticduodenal lymph node. Cut sections of the hepatic tumor were submitted to immunohistochemistry (IHC) with the monoclonal Hep-Par-1 antibody (code M7158, Dako), as previously described (ARGENTA et al, 2020). At the IHC, the neoplastic cells had diffuse and moderate granular intracytoplasmic immunolabeling (Figure 1F).…”

Cystadenocarcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct in a dog

“…In most cases, cystadenocarcinomas occur in the ovary or kidney. To the best of our knowledge, only a few cases of biliary cystadenocarcinomas (BCACs) in dogs and cats have been reported [ 1 , 10 , 20 ]. In humans, the incidence of biliary cystic tumors is less than 5% of all solitary cystic lesions in the liver, and the number of reported cases of BCAC is below 200 [ 6 ].…”