Clinical and Pathological Features of Canine Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma

 Background: Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are uncommon in dogs. ACC often invade the posterior vena cava wall and the advential layer of the abdominal aorta; however, metastases to distant organs are rare. Most dogs with ACC show clinical signs of Cushing`s syndrome in a similar way with signs reported in humans. The aim of this study is to report three cases of metastatic ACC in dogs and their clinical and pathological features.Cases: This report describes three cases of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) in dogs diagnosed post mortem through histopathological examination. The animals presented no signs of adrenal hormones overproduction. Case 1. A 13-year-old intact, mixed breed female dog was presented with a history of progressive hepatomegaly during the last four months. The animal was submitted to an exploratory laparotomy, but due to anesthetic complications no tissue specimen was sampled and after one week, the animal died. The necropsy examination showed an increased left adrenal (3 cm in diameter), multiple yellow to whitish nodules measuring 1 to 2 cm of diameter in the lung and severe hepatomegaly. The histopathological diagnosis was established as ACC with pulmonary metastasis. A severe and diffuse accumulation of gly­cogen in hepatocytes was also observed in Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Case 2. A 9-year-old female intact, mixed breed dog was presented showing ataxia, left head-tilt and dyspnoea. The clinical signs progressed and the dog died after four days. The gross examination showed a diffuse increase of the left adrenal gland (2 cm of diameter) accompanied by a yellowish colour at cut surface; diffuse bronchopneumonia and cerebral and renal discrete congestion. The microscopi­cal diagnosis was ACC with kidney and CNS metastasis. Case 3. A 16-year-old male, intact, Poodle dog was presented with apathy, anorexia, vomiting and diarrhoea in the last two days. The animal was submitted to treatment, but the clinical signs progressed and the dog died. In the necropsy exam an increased right adrenal gland was observed (5 cm of diameter) showing multiple yellowish nodules when sectioned. The lung showed multiple whitish nodules mainly in pleural region. In the histopathological examination, the definitive diagnosis was ACC with pulmonary metastasis.Discussion: Most of adrenocortical tumours in dogs are functional and secrete excessive amounts of cortisol; therefore commonly animals show clinical signs of Cushing`s syndrome. In the present cases, the animals showed no clinical evidence of hormonal changes. Well-differentiated neoplastic cells were observed in cases 1 and 2, whereas in case 3 tumorous cells showed marked features of malignancy as cellular pleomorphism, binucleation, high mitotic index and atypical mitosis. Despite mild anaplastic features observed on cases 1 and 2, animals showed focus of metastases in lung, kidney and CNS. Apparently features of malignancy in ACC were not associated to the risk of metastasis development, indicating that even well-differentiated ACC may metastasize to distant organs. Metastases of ACC to distant sites are rare in dogs and there was no previous report of metastasis to CNS as observed in case 2. Canine ACC are considered uncommon tumours, how­ever, they should be included in the differential diagnosis of mass in the abdominal cavity since the animals may show no clinical signs of adrenocortical hormones overproduction.Keywords: adrenal tumours, adrenocortical hormones, metastases, dog

Pathological Findings in the Adrenal Glands of 80 Dogs

Background: The adrenal glands development important endocrine functions and can be affected by primary or secondary diseases. These adrenal gland pathologies may induce clinical syndromes resulting from abnormalities in the production and secretion of hormones. Data about pathological changes in dogs are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify and evaluate the histopathological and epidemiological features of adrenal changes in dogs submitted to necropsy examination from 2005 to 2016 in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.Material, Methods & Results: During this period, 80 animals presented alterations of adrenal gland, representing 5.5% of all necropsied dogs. The pure breed dogs representing 58.6% and mixed breed 41.4%; 53.4% were female and 46.6% were male. The non-neoplastic adrenal lesions were more frequently (57.5%) compared to the neoplastic changes (42.5%). Most of the adrenal glands lesions occurred in older dogs (60%), following by the middle aged (31.25%) and young dogs (8.75%). The main non-neoplastic lesions observed in the adrenal glands were of hyperplastic (69.5%) and circulatory (26%) origin, among the earlier, 68.8% were diffuse hyperplasia and 31.2% nodular hyperplasia. The nodular hyperplasia was classified as micronodular multifocal in 40% of the glands with nodular hyperplasia, macronodular multifocal in 30%, micronodular diffuse in 20%, and micronodular focal in 10%. The neoplasms observed were adrenocortical adenoma (ACA) in 44.1%, pheochromocytomas in 23.5% and adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) in 11.7% of the dogs with adrenal tumors. Metastasis from other primary tumors were observed in 20.6%.Discussion: The data in veterinary literature about the frequency of changes in adrenal gland of dogs are scarce and focus features of diagnosis by ultrasound examination. Most of the adrenal changes observed in the present study were incidental findings observed during the necropsy examination and no specific clinical signs were observed. Non-neoplastic adrenal lesions, mainly of hyperplastic origin, were more frequently observed compared to the neoplastic changes. Differing from previous studies, the diffuse hyperplasia was the most common non neoplastic finding in the adrenal glands. Considering the subclassification of nodular hyperplasia, the multifocal micronodular and macronodular multifocal pattern were the most frequent. In veterinary literature, there are no data about frequency of nodular hyperplastic subtypes. However, in humans the subclassification of nodular hyperplasia is associated to development of endocrine disorders. Previous studies reported lower incidence of neoplastic changes in adrenal gland of dogs compared to the present results. The adrenocortical adenoma was the most common primary tumor, followed by the adrenocortical carcinoma, pheochromocytoma and adrenocortical carcinoma. Congestion and hemorrhage were common findings observed in the adrenal gland primary tumors. On the other hand, necrosis and inflammatory infiltrate were observed only in the adrenocortical carcinomas. These histopathological features may be used as tool in the differential diagnosis between well differentiated adrenocortical carcinoma and adenoma. The histopathological examination was fundamental to differential and definitive diagnosis of all canine adrenal gland disorders observed

DIAGNÓSTICO HISTOPATOLÓGICO DE DERMATOPATIAS EM CÃES: ESTUDO RETROSPECTIVO (2005-2015)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um estudo retrospectivo das dermatopatias diagnosticadas em cães da região Oeste Paulista, SP, Brasil. A avaliação foi realizada pela análise dos dados relativos ao diagnóstico, raça, idade, sexo e localização anatômica, considerando-se um intervalo de 10 anos (2005 a 2015). Dos 395 casos analisados, 85% eram neoplasias (64%, 214/336 malignas e 34%, 122/334 benignas), 11% alterações inflamatórias, 3,2% hiperplasias e formações císticas, 0,5% parasitária e 0,2% doença imunomediada. Os cães da raça Poodle (9,6%), Boxer (9,1%), Pit Bull (8,1%), Rotweiller (4,8%) e Cocker Spaniel (4,8%) foram os mais afetados pelas dermatopatias. A média de idade do cães foi 7,2 anos e machos (44,8%) foram mais acometidos. As principais localizações anatômicas das dermatopatias foram tronco (38,2%), seguido dos membros (21%) e cabeça (19,2%). Os tumores malignos mais frequentes foram o mastocitoma (22,6%), hemangiossarcoma (8,3%), melanoma (8%) e carcinoma de células escamosas (5,9%). Os principais tumores benignos foram histiocitoma (7,4%), lipoma (3,8%), hemangioma (3,3%), adenoma perianal (2,7%) e tricoblastoma (2,7%). As raças Boxer e Pit Bull mostraram uma alta frequência de mastocitoma e hemangiosarcoma respectivamente. No presente trabalho observou-se uma elevada frequência de neoplasias, principalmente malignas, refletindo as características da população canina e da rotina diagnóstica na região Oeste Paulist

CARCINOMA DE CÉLULAS ESCAMOSAS VULVAR EM BOVINO: RELATO DE CASO.

O carcinoma de células escamosas (CCE) é um tumor maligno de células epiteliais escamosas (queratinócitos) que ocorre em humanos e animais. Na espécie bovina esse tumor é mais comum em região ocular, mas podem ocorrer em qualquer região da pele e mucocutânea. O desenvolvimento desse tipo de tumor está associado a muitos fatores, incluindo a exposição prolongada à luz ultravioleta, falta de pigmento na epiderme e rarefação pilosa. O objetivo do presente trabalho é relatar um caso de CCE na região vulvar em um bovino da raça Nelore

Clinical and Pathological Features of Canine Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma

 Background: Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are uncommon in dogs. ACC often invade the posterior vena cava wall and the advential layer of the abdominal aorta; however, metastases to distant organs are rare. Most dogs with ACC show clinical signs of Cushing`s syndrome in a similar way with signs reported in humans. The aim of this study is to report three cases of metastatic ACC in dogs and their clinical and pathological features.Cases: This report describes three cases of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) in dogs diagnosed post mortem through histopathological examination. The animals presented no signs of adrenal hormones overproduction. Case 1. A 13-year-old intact, mixed breed female dog was presented with a history of progressive hepatomegaly during the last four months. The animal was submitted to an exploratory laparotomy, but due to anesthetic complications no tissue specimen was sampled and after one week, the animal died. The necropsy examination showed an increased left adrenal (3 cm in diameter), multiple yellow to whitish nodules measuring 1 to 2 cm of diameter in the lung and severe hepatomegaly. The histopathological diagnosis was established as ACC with pulmonary metastasis. A severe and diffuse accumulation of gly­cogen in hepatocytes was also observed in Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Case 2. A 9-year-old female intact, mixed breed dog was presented showing ataxia, left head-tilt and dyspnoea. The clinical signs progressed and the dog died after four days. The gross examination showed a diffuse increase of the left adrenal gland (2 cm of diameter) accompanied by a yellowish colour at cut surface; diffuse bronchopneumonia and cerebral and renal discrete congestion. The microscopi­cal diagnosis was ACC with kidney and CNS metastasis. Case 3. A 16-year-old male, intact, Poodle dog was presented with apathy, anorexia, vomiting and diarrhoea in the last two days. The animal was submitted to treatment, but the clinical signs progressed and the dog died. In the necropsy exam an increased right adrenal gland was observed (5 cm of diameter) showing multiple yellowish nodules when sectioned. The lung showed multiple whitish nodules mainly in pleural region. In the histopathological examination, the definitive diagnosis was ACC with pulmonary metastasis.Discussion: Most of adrenocortical tumours in dogs are functional and secrete excessive amounts of cortisol; therefore commonly animals show clinical signs of Cushing`s syndrome. In the present cases, the animals showed no clinical evidence of hormonal changes. Well-differentiated neoplastic cells were observed in cases 1 and 2, whereas in case 3 tumorous cells showed marked features of malignancy as cellular pleomorphism, binucleation, high mitotic index and atypical mitosis. Despite mild anaplastic features observed on cases 1 and 2, animals showed focus of metastases in lung, kidney and CNS. Apparently features of malignancy in ACC were not associated to the risk of metastasis development, indicating that even well-differentiated ACC may metastasize to distant organs. Metastases of ACC to distant sites are rare in dogs and there was no previous report of metastasis to CNS as observed in case 2. Canine ACC are considered uncommon tumours, how­ever, they should be included in the differential diagnosis of mass in the abdominal cavity since the animals may show no clinical signs of adrenocortical hormones overproduction.Keywords: adrenal tumours, adrenocortical hormones, metastases, dog

Effect of phytic acid from rice and corn on morphology, cell proliferation, apoptosis and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in swine jejunal explants

Phytic acid (IP6) is a potent antioxidant present in several natural foods. Beneficial effects on colon cancer and inflammation have been associated to IP6 in several studies, however, scarce data about the effect on small intestine are available. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of different doses of IP6 from rice and corn on intestinal morphology, cellular proliferation, apoptosis and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) expression using swine jejunal explants as experimental model. This report demonstrated that explants treated with 0.5 mM, 2.5 mM and 5 mM of IP6 from rice and 2.5 mM and 5 mM from corn showed higher villi height compared to control. Explants treated with 2.5 mM and 5 mM IP6 from rice exhibited a significant reduction on intestinal histological changes (villi atrophy and fusion, edema, lymphatic vessel dilation, loss of apical enterocytes, cell vacuolation, necrotic debris, morphology of enterocytes and microvilli and number of villi). The cellular proliferation decreased in the explants treated with the dosages of 2.5 mM and 5 mM from rice and a significant decrease in cell apoptosis was observed in the treatments with 2.5 mM IP6 from rice and 5 mM IP6 from corn compared to the control. The explants treated with 2.5 mM and 5 mM IP6 from rice and corn showed a significant reduction of the Cox-2 expression. Higher dosages of IP6 from rice and corn used in this experiment increased the viability and preservation of intestinal tissue as evidenced by morphological and immunohistochemical assays

Phytic acid decreases deoxynivalenol and fumonisin B1-induced changes on swine jejunal explants

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of phytic acid (IP6) on morphological and immunohistochemical parameters on intestinal explants exposed to deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin B1 (FB1). The jejunal explants were exposed for 4 h to different treatments: control, DON (10 μM), DON plus 2.5 mM or 5 mM IP6, FB1 (70 μM), and FB1 plus 2.5 mM or 5 mM IP6. Both mycotoxins induced significant intestinal lesions and decreased villi height. The presence of 2.5 mM and 5 mM IP6 significantly inhibited the morphological changes caused by the mycotoxins. DON induced a significant increase in caspase-3 (83%) and cyclooxygenase-2 (71.3%) expression compared with the control. The presence of 5 mM IP6 induced a significant decrease in caspase-3 (43.7%) and Cox-2 (48%) expression compared with the DON group. FB1 induced a significant increase in caspase-3 expression (47%) compared to the control, whereas IP6 induced no significant change in this expression. A significant decrease in cell proliferation was observed when explants were exposed to 5 mM of IP6 in comparison with the DON and FB1 groups. The present data provide evidence that phytic acid modulates the toxic effects induced by DON and FB1 on intestinal tissue

Deoxynivalenol in the liver and lymphoid organs of rats: effects of dose and duration on immunohistological changes

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most prevalent type B trichothecenes present in food inducing adverse effects, including intestinal changes and immunosuppression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of DON on rats exposed for 7, 14 and 28 days to mycotoxin-contaminated diets, using histological and immunohistochemical analyses on liver and lymphoid organs. Fifty rats received a control diet, or a diet contaminated with 1.75 mg/kg of DON for 30 days, or a diet contaminated with 11.4 mg/kg of DON for 7, 14 or 30 days. Ingestion of contaminated feed induced a significant increase in the lesional score in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. The main histological findings observed in the liver were cytoplasmic vacuolisation and hepatocelular megalocytosis. A significant increase in hepatocyte proliferation was observed in rats that received 1.75 mg/kg of DON. Lymphoid depletion was the main histological alteration observed in lymphoid organs, resulting in a significant increase in the lesional score in all groups that received the contaminated diets. The histological changes and lymphocyte apoptosis were more severe in lymph nodes of rats fed 11.4 mg/kg of DON during 30 days. The results of the morphological and immunohistochemical analyses suggest that the ingestion of DON can induce functional hepatic impairment and immunosuppression in a dose-and time-dependent manner

Pathological Findings in the Adrenal Glands of 80 Dogs

Background: The adrenal glands development important endocrine functions and can be affected by primary or secondary diseases. These adrenal gland pathologies may induce clinical syndromes resulting from abnormalities in the production and secretion of hormones. Data about pathological changes in dogs are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify and evaluate the histopathological and epidemiological features of adrenal changes in dogs submitted to necropsy examination from 2005 to 2016 in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.Material, Methods & Results: During this period, 80 animals presented alterations of adrenal gland, representing 5.5% of all necropsied dogs. The pure breed dogs representing 58.6% and mixed breed 41.4%; 53.4% were female and 46.6% were male. The non-neoplastic adrenal lesions were more frequently (57.5%) compared to the neoplastic changes (42.5%). Most of the adrenal glands lesions occurred in older dogs (60%), following by the middle aged (31.25%) and young dogs (8.75%). The main non-neoplastic lesions observed in the adrenal glands were of hyperplastic (69.5%) and circulatory (26%) origin, among the earlier, 68.8% were diffuse hyperplasia and 31.2% nodular hyperplasia. The nodular hyperplasia was classified as micronodular multifocal in 40% of the glands with nodular hyperplasia, macronodular multifocal in 30%, micronodular diffuse in 20%, and micronodular focal in 10%. The neoplasms observed were adrenocortical adenoma (ACA) in 44.1%, pheochromocytomas in 23.5% and adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) in 11.7% of the dogs with adrenal tumors. Metastasis from other primary tumors were observed in 20.6%.Discussion: The data in veterinary literature about the frequency of changes in adrenal gland of dogs are scarce and focus features of diagnosis by ultrasound examination. Most of the adrenal changes observed in the present study were incidental findings observed during the necropsy examination and no specific clinical signs were observed. Non-neoplastic adrenal lesions, mainly of hyperplastic origin, were more frequently observed compared to the neoplastic changes. Differing from previous studies, the diffuse hyperplasia was the most common non neoplastic finding in the adrenal glands. Considering the subclassification of nodular hyperplasia, the multifocal micronodular and macronodular multifocal pattern were the most frequent. In veterinary literature, there are no data about frequency of nodular hyperplastic subtypes. However, in humans the subclassification of nodular hyperplasia is associated to development of endocrine disorders. Previous studies reported lower incidence of neoplastic changes in adrenal gland of dogs compared to the present results. The adrenocortical adenoma was the most common primary tumor, followed by the adrenocortical carcinoma, pheochromocytoma and adrenocortical carcinoma. Congestion and hemorrhage were common findings observed in the adrenal gland primary tumors. On the other hand, necrosis and inflammatory infiltrate were observed only in the adrenocortical carcinomas. These histopathological features may be used as tool in the differential diagnosis between well differentiated adrenocortical carcinoma and adenoma. The histopathological examination was fundamental to differential and definitive diagnosis of all canine adrenal gland disorders observed

Splenic lesions observed in 71 splenectomized dogs: a retrospective study

O baço de cães é frequentemente afetado por alterações locais ou de origem sistêmica. A dificuldade em associar achados clínicos e macroscópicos contribuem para a escolha da esplenectomia total com principal tratamento, levando a um comprometimento das funções imune e hematopoiética. O principal objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os achados patológicos no baço de cães esplenectomizados durante 2008 a 2014 em um Hospital Escola Veterinário. Dos 71 casos analisados, 97% (69/71) dos cães foram submetidos à esplenectomia total e 3% (2/71) à esplenectomia parcial. Em 45 (63.4%) casos, o diagnóstico histopatológico foi de alterações não-neoplásicas; somente 36,6% (26/71) tinham neoplasia esplênica. As principais alterações não-neoplásicas observadas foram hiperplasia nodular 24,4% (11/45), infarto 22,3% (10/45) e hematoma 20% (9/45). Os tumores mais frequentes foram hemangiossarcoma 50% (13/26), sarcoma histiocítico 23% (6/26) e linfoma esplênico 11.5% (3/26). Os métodos clínicos utilizados para diagnóstico foram ultrassonografia 88% (63/71), radiografia 2.8% (2/71) e laparatomia exploratória. Em 4,2% (3/71), as alterações esplênicas foram observadas durante ovariohisterectomia terapêutica. Os resultados do presente estudo evidenciam uma prevalência de alterações benignas no baço de cães esplenectomizados, associada com uma alta incidência de esplenectomias totais realizadas, indicam uma dificuldade dos médicos veterinários em reconhecer as diferentes lesões que podem acometer o baço.The spleen of dogs is frequently affected by disorders that vary from local and systemic origin. The difficulty in associating clinical and gross findings contributes for the choice of total splenectomy as the main treatment, leading to an impairment of the immune and hematopoietic functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathological findings in the spleen of splenectomized dogs during 2008 to 2014 at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital. From the 71 cases analyzed, 97% (69/71) of the dogs were submitted to total splenectomy and 3% (2/71) to partial splenectomy. In 45 (63.4%) of these cases, the histopathological diagnosis was non-neoplastic alterations; only 36.6% (26/71) had a splenic neoplasia. The main non-neoplastic lesions observed were nodular hyperplasia 24.4% (11/45), infarction 22.3% (10/45), and hematoma 20% (9/45). The most frequent tumors were hemangiosarcoma 50% (13/26), histiocytic sarcoma 23% (6/26), and lymphoma 11.5% (3/26). The clinical methods used to diagnose splenic lesions were ultrasonography 88% (63/71), radiography 2.8% (2/71) and exploratory laparotomy 4.2% (3/71). In 4.2% (3/71) the spleen changes were observed during the therapeutic ovariohysterectomy. The results of the present study showed a prevalence of benign disorders in the spleen of splenectomized dogs associated with a high incidence of total splenectomy performed, indicating a difficulty in recognizing the different lesions that can affect the spleen by the veterinarian medical