Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Clear cell ependymoma in a dog.
- Journal:
- Journal of comparative pathology
- Year:
- 2013
- Authors:
- Traslavina, R P et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Pathology · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old mixed breed dog had been having seizures for about a month. An MRI of the brain showed a cystic mass in the left frontal lobe, which is the part of the brain responsible for many functions. The dog received three treatments of targeted radiation therapy, which reduced the size of the tumor, but unfortunately, the seizures did not get better. After the dog passed away, a post-mortem exam revealed a mass in the same area, and further tests confirmed it was a clear cell ependymoma, a type of brain tumor. This case is notable because it's the first time this specific type of tumor has been reported in dogs.
Abstract
A 13-year-old, mixed breed dog presented with a 1-month history of seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a 2.2 × 1.0 × 0.9 cm ovoid and elongate cystic mass within the white matter of the left frontal lobe extending caudally from the cribriform plate to the rostral left lateral ventricle. Three fractions of stereotactic radiotherapy were administered and resulted in reduction of the volume of the tumour; however, the clinical signs failed to improve. On post-mortem examination, a single mass 1.5 × 0.3 × 1 cm was found within the left frontal lobe. It consisted of gelatinous, grey, friable tissue bordering a central empty cavity. Microscopical evaluation revealed polygonal neoplastic cells with distinct cytoplasmic borders and one or more intracytoplasmic solid, brightly eosinophilic, sharply defined globules. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells expressed glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100 but were negative for pan cytokeratin, vimentin, olig-2 and synaptophysin. Ultrastructurally, neoplastic cells had dense whorls of intracytoplasmic intermediate filaments and were connected by multiple intermittent long zonula adherens-type junctions. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of clear cell ependymoma was made. This is the first report of this subtype in the dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23273584/