Unusual histopathological findings in a young Pekingese dog with intrathoracic malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour

Abstract

This report describes intrathoracic malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour in a Pekingese dog with unusual histopathologic findings. A 2-year-old male Pekingese dog presented with a history of pain and chronic hind limb lameness. Thoracic radiographs revealed soft-tissue opacity ventral to the thoracic vertebrae and dorsal to the aorta and base of the heart. The echo texture of the mass ultrasonographically was heterogenic, including hypo-and hyper-echoic areas within the mass, which had a well-defined echogenic wall. The owner refused further diagnostic tests, and due to a poor prognosis, the dog was euthanized. On histopathological examination, ovoid structures, known as Verocay bodies in human schwannomas, together with the pseudo-rosette-like structures in which neoplastic cells were arranged around blood vessels, were found as the most pronounced histological feature. Immuno-histochemical examination revealed that neoplastic cells were extensively positive for both neuron-specific enolase and vimentin. To the authors' knowledge, such histopathological findings associated with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour in dogs have not been previously reported.Keywords Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour . Dog 0. Dezfoulian

Primary malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arising from the spinal canal invading the abdominal cavity in a dog

“…Although there are a small number of reports of PNSTs invading into the thoracic cavity through the nerve root in dogs, humans, and cows [4,9,12,16], this is the first report in humans or animals of MPNSTs invading into the abdominal cavity through the nerve root. On necropsy, a large mass (22 × 19 × 17 cm) was occupying in the abdominal cavity (Fig.…”