Sertolioma in a Canadian Husky: relationship between tumor, hormones, neurons and skin

ABSTRACT

Background: Sertolioma is a slow-growing, non-invasive, firm and nodular tumor, malignant in 10% to 22% of cases andwith low metastatic potential. Old age and cryptorchidism increase up to 26 times its chances of development and associates it with malignancy. Paraneoplastic syndrome, shown in 20% to 30% of the animals, is due to the aromatization oftestosterone or the direct production of estrogen by tumor cells, leading to signs of feminization and bone marrow aplasia.The objective of this article is to report a case of sertolioma in a dog with dermatological characteristic symptoms, butpresenting an unusual aggressive behavior, both completely reverted after castration.Case A 9-year-old, uncastrated, aggressive and uncontrollable Canadian Husky dog was treated at the InstitutionalVeterinary Hospital with parapenial volume increase and generalized alopecia. A scrotal testis of reduced size and flaccid consistency and a mass in a parapenial region of 11 x 7.5 x 8 cm in diameter, with a cystic contour, adhered to theabdominal musculature and painless to palpation were detected. Cytology of the parapenial mass presented an imagecompatible with seminoma or sertolioma, and the preputial smear revealed a predominance of superficial cells. Ultrasoundexamination showed a heterogeneous inguinal mass, with expansive cystic area, compatible with mass in retained inguinaltestis. Therapeutic course consisted of bilateral orchiectomy. Ectopic testis was firm to the cut, had whitish to yellowishcoloration and was surrounded by a tunica containing 200 mL of serosanguinolent liquid. The histology of the mass revealed sertolioma-compatible cell characteristics, with cell proliferation circumvented by fibrous connective tissue formingpoorly delimited lobes, moderate polymorphism with elongated cells, arranged in a palisade at the periphery of the lobes,vacuolated eosinophilic cytoplasm and vesiculous...