Background: Metastatic disease is frequently present at the time of diagnosis of canine thyroid carcinoma; however, utilisation of computed tomography (CT) alone for staging pre‐treatment has been rarely reported in the veterinary literature. Methods: The aims of this retrospective study were to stage affected dogs using CT findings of the cervical and thoracic regions, combined with histopathology/cytology results, in order to assess whether metastatic disease/WHO staging was of prognostic significance. Results: Fifty‐eight dogs were included in the study. Classification of cases into WHO stages I, II, III and IV were 10%, 50%, 9% and 31%, respectively. No statistically significant effect of WHO stage classification on overall survival/follow‐up time was found (P = .576). Surgery resulted in a statistically significant increase in overall survival/follow‐up time (P < .01). There was no statistically significant effect on overall survival/follow‐up time in dogs that received medical therapy, either as sole therapy or as an adjunctive post‐surgery (P = .198). Conclusion: In summary, this study documents the metastatic rate of canine thyroid carcinoma using CT for staging pre‐treatment. Staging utilising CT revealed a higher distant metastatic rate in dogs with thyroid carcinoma when compared to historical studies using different imaging techniques. As long‐term outcomes are possible for cases with advanced disease, surgical intervention could still be considered.

BackgroundA previous study showed an association between owner-reported exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and lymphoma in cats. This study aimed to investigate the association between ETS exposure and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats, using hair nicotine concentration (HNC) as a biomarker.MethodsThis was a prospective, multi-centre, case–control study. Gastrointestinal lymphoma was diagnosed on cytology or histopathology. Hair samples were obtained from 35 cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and 32 controls. Nicotine was extracted from hair by sonification in methanol followed by hydrophilic interaction chromatography with mass spectrometry. Non-parametric tests were used.ResultsThe median HNC of the gastrointestinal lymphoma and control groups was not significantly different (0.030 ng/mg and 0.029 ng/mg, respectively, p=0.46). When the HNC of all 67 cats was rank ordered and divided into quartiles, there was no significant difference in the proportion of lymphoma cases or controls within these groups (p=0.63). The percentage of cats with an HNC≥0.1 ng/mg was higher for the lymphoma group (22.9%) than the control group (15.6%) but failed to reach significance (p=0.45).ConclusionA significant association was not identified between HNC (a biomarker for ETS) and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats; however, an association may exist and further studies are therefore required.

Two cases of dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy in 16-week-old male lurcher siblings are reported. The myopathies were characterised by regurgitation, progressive weakness and muscle wastage. The dogs had generalised weakness in all four limbs, with more pronounced weakness in the pelvic limbs. Reduced withdrawal in all limbs, muscle contracture and lingual hypertrophy were noted. Serum creatine kinase activities were markedly elevated. Electromyographic abnormalities included fibrillation potentials. Histopathological and immunohistochemical staining were consistent with dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy. Clinical improvement was noted in one of the cases with L-carnitine supplementation and supportive therapy. Genetic transmission of the disease was postulated as the dogs were siblings.

A 10‐month‐old, male entire Rhodesian Ridgeback was presented with a 1‐week history of vomiting, small and large intestinal diarrhoea, hyporexia and weight loss. Physical examination revealed a palpable abdominal mass. Abdominal ultrasonography and contrast computed tomography demonstrated multiple cystic masses of varied size and wall thickness with no appreciable origin. An exploratory laparotomy revealed multiple mass lesions throughout the mesentery, located adjacent to blood vessels and varying in size from approximately 2 mm up to 13 cm in diameter. In histologic sections, the nodular structures resembled thick‐walled arteries. Immunohistochemistry confirmed positive cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for von Willebrand factor, CD31 and smooth muscle actin. This is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first case of disseminated peritoneal angiomatosis with arterial differentiation in the dog. The dog was euthanased due to the progressive nature of the mass lesions.

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