Hepatoblastoma in a cat.

Hepatoblastomas are neoplasms that originate from putative pluripotential stem cells of the liver. A hepatic mass from an 8-year-old Abyssinian cat was composed of cords and sheets of neoplastic cells, with scattered rosettes and small ductal structures. Most neoplastic cells had a pale eosinophilic cytoplasm and a round to ovoid nucleus. The tumor also had short spindle cells with an oval nucleus. Immunohistochemically, neoplastic cells were weakly positive for embryonic hepatocellular markers, such as alpha-fetoprotein and cytokeratin (CK) 8/18, but negative for the hepatocellular marker Hepatocyte Paraffin 1. The cells were also positive for CD56/neural cell adhesion molecule and for the biliary epithelial markers CK 7, CK 8/18, CK CAM5.2, and vimentin, but negative for CK 20. Some neoplastic cells expressed neuroectodermal or neuroendocrine markers, such as protein gene product 9.5 and synaptophysin, but were negative for chromogranin A and not argyrophilic by the Grimelius technique. The cat died soon after the biopsy without clinical improvement.

Emperipolesis-like invasion of neoplastic lymphocytes into hepatocytes in feline T-cell lymphoma.

Twelve cases of feline malignant lymphoma with emperipolesis-like invasion of neoplastic lymphocytes were examined microscopically, immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally. Intracytoplasmic invasion of neoplastic cells varied in severity between the cases, between hepatic lobules and between areas within the lobules. The number of infiltrating neoplastic cells ranged from one to several per hepatocyte. Neoplastic cells exhibited widely varying morphology from case-to-case and cell-to-cell within each case, and contained eosinophilic cytoplasmic granules in four cases. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that neoplastic cells in 11 of the 12 cases expressed one or both T-cell markers (CD3 and TIA-1). Diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma was also confirmed by assessment of clonality by polymerase chain reaction. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that the neoplastic lymphocytes were contained within an invagination of the cell membrane of the hepatocyte, rather than directly infiltrating into the cytoplasm of the cell. There was no evidence that the invasive neoplastic lymphocytes had a cytotoxic effect.

The hidden agenda of story-making therapy.

The use of drawings as an integral part of the therapeutic process facilitates communication when working with children who communicate reluctantly. This article focuses on the use of drawings as a communication medium in story-making therapy with a seven-year-old girl who was in crisis with multi-psychosocial childhood trauma.