Diagnostic Correlation of CT–MRI and Histopathology in 10 Dogs with Brain Neoplasms

Abstract

Ten dogs with primary (n = 8) and metastatic (n = 2) brain tumours were studied in an attempt to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Of the clinical signs noticed, seizures (seven of 10), behavioural abnormalities and cognition dysfunction (seven of 10), compulsive walking and circling (six of 10), sensorimotor (five of 10) and neuro-opthalmological (two of 10) dysfunction were the most common. In all 10 animals that finally died of the disease or were killed, the histopathological diagnosis that followed necropsy was taken as a golden standard in the CT or MRI prediction of the histological type of brain neoplasms. In every instance, tumour detection, morphology and histological differentiation were possible with the aid of either CT (seven of 10) or MRI (three of 10) imaging especially after contrast enhancement. Only one CT-evaluated dog, diagnosed as meningioma, was found to be astrocytoma on histopathology. Interestingly, a rare case of cerebellar medulloblastoma was correctly identified in MRI scans.

Canine primary encephalopathies: a retrospective study of 48 cases (2008-2012)

“…Brain tumours were among the most common disorders recorded in this study, an observation which is in agreement with epidemiological data, reporting an incidence risk of 14.5 in 100,000 animals for the disorder (Polizopoulou et al, 2004). Typically affected animals are middle-aged to elderly dogs (aged >5 years); however, exceptions can occur in breeds predisposed to cerebral cancer and certain tumour types (primitive neuroectodermal tumours) that affect younger animals.…”

“…Diagnosis of primary neoplasias in all eight animals was carried out by diagnostic imaging methods, which are the only way to reach aetiologic diagnosis ante-mortem in these cases. Clinical and diagnostic imaging lesion localization corresponded well, as shown previously in other clinical studies, confirming the need for a systematic neurological evaluation of patients (Polizopoulou et al, 2004). Interestingly, in five cases the lesion localization was determined to be the cerebellopontine angle, with all the affected animals showing signs of central vestibular disease.…”

“…Of these, two animals were Boxers, a breed predisposed to gliomas, which was the tumour type (oligodendroglioma) histologically identified in one of them. Notably, in over half of the cases (6/10), onset of signs was acute or subacute, an evolution pattern not uncommon in brain neoplasia caused by the sudden exhaustion of compensatory protective mechanisms, obstructive hydrocephalus or haemorrhage (Polizopoulou et al, 2004;Long, 2006). When interpreting evolution patterns in brain tumours, the histological versus the biological malignancy has to be considered.…”

“…When interpreting evolution patterns in brain tumours, the histological versus the biological malignancy has to be considered. Tumours located in some anatomic sites (i.e., frontal cerebral lobes) may be clinically silent or tolerated for long periods than others neoplastic lesions located in highly vascular areas or the ventricular system (Polizopoulou et al, 2004;Long, 2006). Diagnosis of primary neoplasias in all eight animals was carried out by diagnostic imaging methods, which are the only way to reach aetiologic diagnosis ante-mortem in these cases.…”

The contribution of laboratory animals to diagnostic imaging research in Greece

“…Other projects led to the better imaging and early cancer diagnosis via original (Polizopoulou et al, 2004), (Patsikas et al, 2006) and modern imaging techniques as Quantum dots-bevacizumab (Gazouli et al, 2014) and digital subtraction angiography (Κarnabatidis, 2001).…”