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. 2020 Dec;22(12):1095-1102.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X20905035. Epub 2020 Feb 12.

Tumours in European Shorthair cats: a retrospective study of 680 cases

Elisabetta Manuali  1 , Claudio Forte  1 , Gaia Vichi  2 , Domenica Anna Genovese  1 , Danilo Mancini  3 , Alessia Arcangela Pia De Leo  1 , Laura Cavicchioli  4 , Paolo Pierucci  5 , Valentina Zappulli  4
Affiliations

Tumours in European Shorthair cats: a retrospective study of 680 cases

Elisabetta Manuali et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: Naturally occurring tumours in domestic cats are less common than in dogs and represent the leading cause of death among older animals. The main objective of this study was to analyse a large data set of histologically diagnosed tumours to highlight the most common World Health Organization (WHO) tumour histotypes, the effect of age and sex, and the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) topographical site predilections of feline breed-specific tumours.

Methods: A total of 680 feline tumours diagnosed in European Shorthair cats by three veterinary diagnostic laboratories located in central Italy from 2013 to 2019 were collected. Data on age, sex and topography of lesions were recorded. Samples were morphologically and topographically coded using the WHO and the ICD-O-3 classification system.

Results: Skin and soft tissue neoplasms comprised 55.9% of all tumours, followed by mammary gland (11%), alimentary tract (7.9%), oral cavity and tongue (7.3%), nasal cavity and middle ear (6%), lymph node (3.1%), bone (1.8%) and liver/intrahepatic bile duct (1.3%) tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), sarcoma, lymphoma and basal cell tumours were the most diagnosed neoplasms. Malignant tumours were 82.9% of the total and the topographical sites mainly involved were skin (C44), connective/subcutaneous/other soft tissues (C49), mammary gland (C50), small intestine (C17), nasal cavity and middle ear (C30), and gum (C03).

Conclusions and relevance: This study aimed to provide an in-depth evaluation of spontaneous feline tumours in the European Shorthair cat breed. Results identify SCC as the most commonly represented skin neoplasm. It is likely that the analysed feline population, living in southern latitudes, was more subject to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, explaining the discrepancy with previous studies in which SCC was less represented.

Keywords: European Shorthair breed; ICD-O-3; Tumours; WHO.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Benign and malignant tumour distribution in European Shorthair cats according to topographical site (International Classification of Diseases for Oncology-3)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Differences in age (years) of onset of the most frequent histotypes according to sex. F = female; M = male
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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