Choroid plexus papilloma in a dog surviving for 15 months after diagnosis with symptomatic therapy

A 4-year-old female French bulldog presented with a 6-month history of right-sided head tilt and acute onset ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a large mass lesion at the cerebellomedullary pontine angle. The dog was able to stand and walk after beginning symptomatic therapy with prednisolone, acetazolamide and glycerin. Magnetic resonance imaging 10 months after the first examination indicated slight expansion of the tumor. The dog was able to walk with continuous symptomatic therapy for 15 months until death, although the head tilt persisted. On postmortem examination, the gross tumor was slightly larger than when seen on the second MRI scan and was histopathologically diagnosed as a choroid plexus papilloma.     

A canine case with cystic meningioma showing miraculous reduction of the cystic lesion

A 12-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever was presented with forebrain signs. Brain MRI revealed a huge cystic lesion with the thickened falx in the frontal region. The brain parenchyma surrounding the lesion showed significant signs of a mass effect and also increased intracranial pressure. However, the dog suddenly became lucid after about two weeks, and an MRI scan one month after the initial study revealed a dramatically shrunken cystic lesion. The dog survived for over a year until it was euthanized for other reasons, and the brain lesion was diagnosed as a cystic meningioma histologically. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report that described the reduction of the cystic lesion of a cystic meningioma in dogs.     

Comparison of prevalence of Felis catus papillomavirus type 2 in squamous cell carcinomas in cats between Taiwan and Japan

Felis catus papillomavirus (FcaPV), especially type 2 (FcaPV2) is considered as one of the causative agents in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in cats. However, our previous study detected FcaPV3 and FcaPV4, but not FcaPV2 in feline SCCs collected in Japan, suggesting that the prevalence of FcaPV2 in SCC may vary depending on geographic locations. To evaluate this hypothesis, two conventional PCR reactions targeting E1 and E7 genes were performed to detect FcaPV2 in feline SCC samples collected in Taiwan and Japan. While 46.9% (23/49) of feline SCC cases from Taiwan were PCR positive for FcaPV2, only 8.6% (3/35) cases from Japan were positive. Our result suggests that the prevalence of FcaPV2 in feline SCCs may depend on the region.     

Marker-assisted selection for forelimb-girdle muscular anomaly of Japanese Black cattle

Forelimb‐girdle muscular anomaly is a hereditary disorder of Japanese Black cattle characterized by tremors and astasia caused by hypoplasia of the forelimb‐girdle muscles. The locus responsible for this disorder has been mapped on a middle region of bovine chromosome 26. In this study, we applied marker‐assisted selection to identify the carriers of this disorder. Four microsatellite markers, DIK4440, BM4505, MOK2602 and IDVGA‐59, linked to the disorder locus were genotyped in 37 unaffected offspring of a carrier sire. Transmission of the mutant or wild‐type allele of the disorder locus of the sire to the 37 offspring was determined by examining the haplotypes of these markers. The results showed that nine and 18 of the 37 animals possessed the paternally transmitted mutant and wild‐type alleles, respectively, and therefore, the nine animals with the mutant allele were identified as carriers. We concluded that the marker‐assisted selection using these four markers can be applied for the identification of the carriers of forelimb‐girdle muscular anomaly of Japanese Black cattle.     

Surgical and Localized Radiation Therapy for an Intranasal Adenocarcinoma in a Rabbit

An 8-year-old spayed female Netherland Dwarf rabbit presented with a two-month history of dyspnea and snoring. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head revealed mass lesions in the right nasal cavity. Surgical exenteration of the lesions was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was an intranasal adenocarcinoma. On the basis of this diagnosis, radiotherapy was planned and consisted of eight fractions of 6 Gy administered once a week. After the completion of radiation therapy, the soft tissue density in the right nasal cavity, as detected by CT, significantly decreased. The prognosis has remained good for over 3 years after treatment. This paper is the first to describe the clinical and pathological features of an intranasal tumor in a rabbit.     

Long-term postsurgical outcomes of mast cell tumors resected with a margin proportional to the tumor diameter in 23 dogs

We evaluated the postsurgical outcomes of cutaneous or subcutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs, n=25) in 23 dogs, resected with lateral surgical margins proportional to the widest tumor diameter, including at least one facial plane. The tumor diameter range was 0.3–2.6 cm (median: 0.9 cm), and all were histologically diagnosed as Kiupel’s low-grade MCT. Resection was histologically complete in 20, close (deep margin) in three, and incomplete (deep margin) in two. No dogs developed local recurrence at the site of initial surgery during follow-up of 161–2,219 days (median: 976 days). These results suggest that resection of low-grade, relatively small MCTs with surgical margins proportional to the tumor diameter is a practical procedure with high success rates.