Clinical outcomes, ultrastructure and immunohistochemical features of canine high‐grade olfactory neuroblastoma

Abstract

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare intranasal neoplasm in both dogs and humans. Similar clinical presentation and overlapping histologic and immunohistochemical features of ONB with other intranasal neoplasms can make diagnosis and treatment of intranasal neoplasia challenging. Furthermore, in part because of their rarity, there is a lack of reporting on therapeutic regimen for these neoplasms. In humans, initial debulking surgery is usually followed by radiation therapy. Here we report on the histologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural characteristics of canine ONB and report on the clinical progression of cases treated with radiation therapy. In all nine canine ONB examined here, neoplastic cells were arranged in a lobular manner amidst a prominent neurofibrillary matrix and had features consistent with Grade III (high grade) ONB. The neoplastic cells demonstrated positive immunohistochemical staining for TuJ-1, a Class III beta-tubulin neuronal cytoskeletal protein, and variable staining for other markers, including chromogranin, synaptophysin,

Outcome of a dog undergoing definitive‐intent intensity‐modulated radiation therapy for an intranasal ganglioneuroma

“…Based on our review of the literature, this is the first published report describing the clinical management, mostly IMRT, of an intranasal GN in a dog. Similar types of nasal tumors have been described in the literature 4‐6 . However, neoplastic cells from neuroblastomas (NBs) and GNs are at different stages of cell maturation, which may have an impact in the biological behavior and outcome.…”

Olfactory ganglioneuroblastoma in a dog: case report and literature review

“…Neuroblastic tumors (NTs; neuroblastoma, ganglioneuroblastoma [GNB], and ganglioneuroma) are rare neoplasms that have been reported in humans and a variety of veterinary species. 1,3,10,19 NTs exist on a continuum with neuroblastomas being the most primitive; ganglioneuromas are the most differentiated. GNBs comprise a moderately differentiated group of NTs that vary in their composition and degree of cellular maturation.…”

“…NTs have been identified in association with sympathetic nervous tissue, within the central nervous system, and within the superior nasal cavity of humans and veterinary species. 3,4,7-9 Peripheral NTs are derived from neural crest cells that form the sympathetic nervous system, whereas olfactory NTs (ONTs) arise from basal progenitor cells of the olfactory epithelium that line the superior nasal cavity and cover the ethmoid cribriform plate. 7,10 Within the human literature, evidence supporting ONTs as nosologically unrelated to peripheral NTs include gene expression profiling similarities between normal olfactory mucosa and olfactory neuroblastoma cells, and ONTs can be diagnosed in all age groups, compared to peripheral neuroblastomas, which are usually diagnosed in patients < 5 y old.…”

“…Multiple canine ONT case reports and case series have been published; there have been no documented cases of canine olfactory ganglioneuromas, to our knowledge. 2,3,16 A single case report has documented an olfactory ganglioneuroblastoma (OGNB) in a dog 12 in which postmortem nasal passage dissection revealed that the neoplasm was confined to the nasal cavity (i.e., the cribriform plate was intact). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) performed on the neoplasm revealed that the ganglion cells exhibited immunoreactivity for neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and neurofilament protein (NF), with rare spindle cells exhibiting immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).…”

“…MAP-2 and TuJ-1 IHC were performed as described previously; CK8/18 was additionally performed at the University of California–Davis. 3,6…”