A 4-year-old female French bulldog presented with a 6-month history of right-sided head tilt and acute onset ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a large mass lesion at the cerebellomedullary pontine angle. The dog was able to stand and walk after beginning symptomatic therapy with prednisolone, acetazolamide and glycerin. Magnetic resonance imaging 10 months after the first examination indicated slight expansion of the tumor. The dog was able to walk with continuous symptomatic therapy for 15 months until death, although the head tilt persisted. On postmortem examination, the gross tumor was slightly larger than when seen on the second MRI scan and was histopathologically diagnosed as a choroid plexus papilloma.

Summary: An 8-month-old female cat presented with a 1-month history of open-mouth breathing and intermittent regurgitation. Contrast radiography revealed megaesophagus (ME) with a large pharyngeal mass. The mass was removed by gentle traction under general anesthesia, after which the ME resolved within 9 days. The mass was diagnosed as a nasopharyngeal polyp based on clinical and histopathological findings. A similar polyp recurred 50 days postoperatively, and was also removed by traction followed by four treatments with methylprednisolone acetate. The cat remained asymptomatic for 9 months after the second surgery. This report demonstrates that ME resulting from a nasopharyngeal polyp may resolve spontaneously after polyp removal, but post-surgical glucocorticoid therapy may also be needed to decrease the chance of recurrence.

Summary:The clinicopathological features of apocrine sweat gland carcinoma in five dogs were evaluated. All five dogs were ≥12 years old and had a solitary lesion with ulceration due to tumor invasion into the epidermis. Glandular formation, desmoplasia, and stromal invasion were histopathologically observed in all cases. Two dogs also had features of scirrhous carcinoma. Wide tumor excision resulted in good local control in all dogs, but one with scirrhous carcinoma (interdigital forelimb tumor) developed metastasis to a superficial lymph node 3 months after surgery. Another dog with scirrhous carcinoma (tumor fixed to the elbow) with vascular invasion died of widespread skin metastasis 6 months after surgery. The dog with the highest mitotic index (tumor near the vagina) died of multiorgan metastases 7 months after surgery. The other two dogs showed no metastasis during the follow-up period. Wide excision may be useful for local control of apocrine sweat gland carcinoma in dogs; however, the metastatic potential should be considered in some dogs with histological features of scirrhous carcinoma, a high mitotic index, or vascular invasion.