Cervical chondroid chordoma in a standard dachshund: a case report.

A ten-year-old male standard dachshund was presented with a history of neck pain and progressive gait disturbances. Following a neurological examination and diagnostic imaging, including CT, a neoplastic lesion involving the third and fourth cervical vertebrae was suspected. The lesion included an extradural mass on the right side of the spinal canal causing a local compression of the cervical cord. Surgery, using a modified dorsal laminectomy procedure, was performed in order to decompress the cervical spinal cord. Histopathological examination of the extradural mass indicated that the tumour was a chondroid chordoma. Following discharge, the quality of life for the dog was very good for a sustained period, but clinical signs recurred at 22 months. The dog was euthanased 25 months post-surgery. On post-mortem examination, a regrowth of neoplastic tissue was found to have infiltrated the bone and spinal cord at C3-C4. This is the first report to show that palliative surgery can offer successful long-lasting treatment of chondroid chordoma of the cervical spine in the dog.

Pathological Findings and Distribution of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Virus in Lungs from Naturally Infected Fattening Pigs in Norway.

The Norwegian pig population was considered free from influenza A virus infections until the first case of porcine pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus infection in October 2009. Human to pig transmission of virus was suspected. Unusual lung lesions were observed in fattening pigs, with red, lobular, multifocal to coalescing consolidation, most frequently in the cranial, middle, and accessory lobes. The main histopathological findings were epithelial degeneration and necrosis, lymphocyte infiltration in the epithelial lining and lamina propria of small bronchi and bronchioles, and peribronchial and peribronchiolar lymphocyte infiltrations. Infection with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemical detection of influenza A virus nucleoprotein in the lesions. This investigation shows that natural infection with the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus induces lung lesions similar to lesions described in experimental studies and natural infections with other swine-adapted subtypes of influenza A viruses.

Canine neoplasia--introductory paper.

The paper gives a brief introduction to canine oncology, including its comparative aspects as basis for recording tumours in the animal kingdom. In an abbreviated presentation of the Norwegian Canine Cancer Project for the years 1990-1998, the data (n=14,401) were divided into age groups, each of two years, into different categories of tumours, and into age and gender. As expected, cutaneous histiocytoma was the dominant tumour type in both sexes during the two first years of life. In the age group 2-3.99 years histiocytoma was still the largest group in males, but was surpassed by benign epithelial skin tumours in females. After the age of 4 years, benign epithelial skin tumours constituted the greatest circumscribed group in males, and mammary tumours in females, although the summated other tumours, not explained in this survey, dominated overall in males. Maligancies (cancer) were shown in the same way, by corresponding groups of gender and age. While mastocytoma was the most common tumour and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma the second most common during the two first years of life in females, the situation was reversed in males. Later, mammary tumours dominated in females, while different tumour types not further specified in this summarized report dominated in males, until the end of the age registration (above 14 years). Number, sex and location of most common tumours are shown in a tabular outline. Comparative aspects between human and dog tumours are considered: mammary and testicular neoplasia seemed more frequent in dogs than in humans in Norway, while intestinal, pulmonary and prostatic malignancies were less common in dogs. In our study, vascular tumours and tumour-like lesions constituted about 3% of the total data. As benign vascular tumours are incompletely reported to the human Cancer Registry, no dependable comparison may be made, but malignant vascular tumours have been on the rise during the last decades in the Norwegian human population, more so in men then in women. Finally, the article deals briefly with the development of endothelial cells, and the sparse information on causal factors of vascular tumours.

Canine vascular neoplasia--histologic classification and inmunohistochemical analysis of 221 tumours and tumour-like lesions.

A light microscopic evaluation of 221 canine vascular tumours and tumour-like lesions, supplemented by immunohistochemistry (von Willebrand Factor, CD31, vimentin), revealed a high degree of conformity with similar conditions in humans. Four main categories of tumours are reported, i.e. benign types: haemangiomas (n=127) and lymphangioma (n=1); tumour-like lesions: papillary endothelial hyperplasia (n=8) and vascular ectasias (n=2); neoplasms of intermediate malignancy: haemangioendotheliomas (n=27), and the obvious malignant form: angiosarcomas (n=57). Further classification showed that all subtypes had their human counterparts. Papillary endothelial hyperplasia and arteriovenous and venous haemangiomas are described for the first time in dogs. The combination of conventional histopathologic methods and immunohistochemistry was in many cases very useful diagnostically, the latter technique being in some cases indispensable for establishing a definite diagnosis. In general CD31 was the most useful marker for tumours originating from endothelial cells, especially for poorly differentiated haemangiosarcomas.

Canine vascular neoplasia--a population-based study of prognosis.

The present study is the first complete presentation of the prognosis of all histological types of canine vascular tumours, using population-based data. A retrospective, longitudinal, population-based study of 420 dogs was carried out in 2001-2002 using updated histologically verified diagnoses of vascular tumours and tumour-like lesions recorded in Norwegian Canine Cancer Register (NCCR) 1990-1998. Data on clinical signs and outcome of the vascular tumour, and causes of death, were obtained from dog owners and veterinary practitioners by mailed questionnaires. The a priori set inclusion criteria required that both questionnaire forms were completed, which was the case for 162 of the 420 dogs (39%). A benign tumour was diagnosed in 61%, whereas 15% had a tumour of intermediate malignancy and 24% had a malignant one. Survival time was estimated by the method of Kaplan-Meier (product limit) survival plot, and the survival time for three histological diagnoses was compared by a log-rank test. Hazard ratios were estimated by Cox proportional hazards model. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Median survival time of dogs with malignant vascular tumour was < or = one day, and the respective median survival times for intermediate malignant and benign types were 101 and > or = 1095 days (P<0.0001). The median survival time of dogs with splenic vascular tumours was > or = 1095 days, 110 days and < or = one day for benign, intermediate malignant and malignant tumour forms, respectively (P<0.0001). Since the histological diagnosis was made without any knowledge of the outcome, the present study confirms that the new histological criteria and methods employed have indeed a prognostic value. This is the first time it has been shown that a histopathological differentiation of malignant tumours into two well-defined subgroups differentiates the survival time correspondingly: dogs with less grave tumour diagnoses live 100-110 days longer than dogs with the obvious malignant tumours, if surgery alone is the treatment regime.

Canine vascular neoplasia--a population-based clinicopathologic study of 439 tumours and tumour-like lesions in 420 dogs.

This paper deals with a population-based material collected during the years 1990-1998, and comprises 439 tumours and tumour-like vascular processes from 420 dogs. Anatomic location, age, breed and gender are reported. A distinction is made between benign neoplasms, tumours of intermediate malignancy, and obvious malignant processes (angiosarcomas). Clinical behaviour, comprising recurrence and metastatic disposition, is included. Subclassification is done according to criteria used in human oncology. More than one half (242 of 439) occurred in the skin, and a great majority of skin processes (223 of 242) represented benign tumours or tumour-like lesions. The next most common site of summarised lesions was the spleen, with 110 cases, with only 17 processes in this organ being defined as benign. Splenic involvement was followed by the liver, with 13 out of 17 processes being angiosarcomas. Eleven of 12 heart tumours were angiosarcomas. A majority of skin haemangiomas was of the cavernous type (108 of 211), and more than one half (10 of 14) of the capillary haemangiomas were located on dorsal sites of the extremities. The mixed capillary/cavernous haemangiomas had a more diffuse distribution, although 20 of 31 were found in the skin of the hind limbs. Only one lymphangioma and one case of angiomatosis were observed. Most tumour-like proliferations were papillary endothelial hyperplasias. Recurrence occurred in 17 dogs, some of which had received a primary benign diagnosis. Primary metastases were observed in 63 animals, the majority in the spleen and heart. Dissemination involved a further 23 cases (22 had angiosarcoma). The male/female rate of benign tumours was 0.78, for tumour-like processes 1.83, intermediate malignant tumours 1.65, and angiosarcomas 1.60. With few exceptions, there was an overweight of all subclassified vascular lesions in animals more than 6 years of age.

Canine neoplasia--population-based incidence of vascular tumours.

We have identified thirteen breeds that are registered in the Norwegian Canine Cancer Register with more than five cases of newly diagnosed, primary vascular neoplasia in the period from 1990 to 1998. Incidence rates have been estimated for the boxer and the Bernese mountain dog because the population at risk is known as a result of the 1992/93-census of the Bernese mountain dog, boxer and bichon frisé. The boxer had a mean annual incidence rate for all types of vascular tumours, for both sexes, of 4.3 cases per 1000 dogs. The sex ratio was close to one, and the age group of highest risk was 10-12 years. For vascular cancer, the mean annual incidence rate for both sexes was 1.5 cases per 1000 dogs, and the age group of highest risk was 10-12 years. The mean annual incidence rate of vascular tumours for the Bernese mountain dog for both sexes was 2.5 cases per 1000 dogs. The male to female incidence ratio was approximately 1/2. The age group of highest incidence rate was 10-11 years for all types of vascular tumours as for the vascular cancer. The mean annual incidence rate for malignant tumours for both sexes was 1.0 cases per year per 1000 dogs. For all thirteen breeds, the relative risk of all types of vascular tumours has been computed ad modum Arnesen. The highest estimated incidence rate of malignant vascular tumours per 1000 dogs was found in the boxer (1.5). The flat-coated retriever and Bernese mountain dog had 1.0 and 0.9, respectively, and the German shepherd had 0.8. The study shows that the German shepherd is not the breed with the highest frequency of vascular tumour when the population at risk is taken into consideration, although the total number of vascular tumours is highest in this breed.