Background: Metastatic skin cancer is a rare complication of internal malignancies. Patients who do develop skin metastases seldom present with a zosteriform distribution. Objective: To elucidate the characteristics of zosteriform metastatic skin cancer, 15 cases from the medical literature and 3 cases seen in our clinic were reviewed clinically and histopathologically. Methods: The age and sex of each patient, site of the primary tumor, pathology of primary and metastatic lesions, location of the skin cancer and presence of pain were determined for the 18 cases of zosteriform skin cancer. Results: The most frequent site of the primary tumor was the breast (4 cases), ovary or lung (3 cases each), prostate, bladder or stomach (2 cases each) and uterus or colon (1 case each). The most common site of the skin metastases was the chest wall (8 cases) and abdominal wall (7 cases). The histology of the primary lesion was compatible with adenocarcinoma (10 cases), transitional cell carcinoma or serous papillary cystadenocarcinoma (2 cases each) and ductal carcinoma (1 case). Eleven cases developed on the nearest covering skin and/or on the same side as the primary tumor. Eleven patients complained of pain. Seven cases were treated as herpes zoster with antiviral agents. Conclusion: Approximately 50% of cases of metastatic skin cancer developed on the nearest skin covering and on the same side as the primary tumor. This evidence may be useful when trying to pinpoint the location of the primary tumor. One third of patients with skin metastases were misdiagnosed and their lesions were treated initially as herpes zoster. When a band-like eruption is seen in patients with internal malignancies, the possibility of metastatic skin lesions should be considered. A skin biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis.

Compared with complete resection, incomplete resection decreased PFS and OS in dogs with massive HCC. Dogs with incompletely excised HCC should be closely monitored for local recurrence, although median OS was >2 years following incomplete excision. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

This retrospective study investigated the outcome of 33 dogs with splenic hemangiosarcoma treated with surgery followed by adjuvant dose-intensified doxorubicin (DOX) with or without low-dose metronomic cyclophosphamide (LDM-C) maintenance therapy. Among the 33 dogs, 18 dogs received LDM-C. Clinical stage was available for all dogs (5 stage I, 18 stage II, and 10 stage III). Nine dogs had macroscopic, and 24 dogs had microscopic disease at the start of DOX treatment. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 125 and 133 days, respectively. Clinical stage and tumor burden (microscopic versus macroscopic) at the start of chemotherapy was prognostic for PFS. No significant difference was observed in PFS or overall survival for the addition of LDM-C after a completed DOX protocol (P = .563 and P = .148, respectively). Based on the results of this retrospective study, the addition of LDM-C therapy as a maintenance regimen following a completed protocol of DOX adjuvant treatment of canine hemangiosarcoma may not improve outcome.

Diagnostic imaging of the eye can be performed using ultrasonography, MRI or CT. This study describes the CT dimensions, volumes and radiodensities of presumed normal feline intraocular structures. Nineteen adult patients were included in this retrospective study. Fourteen males and five females were included, with domestic short hair (DSH) being the predominant breed. Length, volume and radiodensity values for the lens, anterior chamber, vitreous chamber and optic nerve were calculated as well as measurements of the optic nerve width. There was no significant correlation found on linear regression analysis comparing patient’s body weight with the various ocular measurements. Measurements of the lens, globe and optic nerve had significant differences (P<0.05) noted between the sexes, with males having increased values. These results may be skewed due to the large majority of male patients in the study. There was a weak correlation found between age and right eye (OD) optic nerve width, with an increase in the optic nerve width noted with increasing age. The findings of this study are a first step in establishing CT reference values for feline intraocular structure measurements.