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Case Reports
. 2022 May;34(3):564-567.
doi: 10.1177/10406387221088596. Epub 2022 Apr 10.

Urothelial carcinoma with tonsillar metastasis in a dog

Renata M Mammone  1 , Brett Havis  1 , Angela Royal  1 , Lindsay L Donnelly  2 , Dae Young Kim  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Urothelial carcinoma with tonsillar metastasis in a dog

Renata M Mammone et al. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2022 May.

Abstract

Given its unusual lymphatic drainage system, the tonsil is a rare site of metastasis, with few reports in the human and veterinary literature. Prognosis in cases of tonsillar metastasis is reportedly poor. We describe here a unique case of urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC) with metastasis to the tonsil in an 11-y-old, spayed female, mixed-breed dog. At presentation, the patient had a history of a growing neck mass and increasing lethargy, hyporexia, weight loss, drooling, and diarrhea for 2 wk. A carcinoma was diagnosed by cytology. Given the poor prognosis, the patient was euthanized. Postmortem examination revealed masses in the inguinal region, cranioventral neck region including tonsil, and urinary bladder. Histologically, the masses were composed of large polyhedral cells arranged in dense sheets and nests with occasional large, clear, intracytoplasmic vacuoles. Neoplastic cells were multifocally positive for uroplakin III and cytokeratin 8/18 by immunohistochemistry. UC with metastasis to tonsil and lymph nodes was diagnosed.

Keywords: canine; metastasis; tonsil; urothelial carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: 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.
Urothelial carcinoma (UC) with metastasis to a tonsil in a dog. A. Aggregates of neoplastic epithelial cells in the tonsil. H&E. B. Neoplastic cells exhibited positive immunostaining for UPIII, confirming UC metastasis. C. Neoplastic cells exhibited positive immunostaining for CK8/18. D. Neoplastic cells arising from the urinary bladder epithelium and adjacent normal urothelial cells exhibited positive immunostaining for UPIII. Inset: the urinary bladder UC. H&E.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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