Metastasizing Esthesioneuroblastoma in a Dog

Abstract

A 7-year-old Afghan hound presented with a history of disorientation, loss of vision, and seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging helped identify a mass at the level of the main olfactory bulb that compressed and displaced adjacent tissues in the cribriform plate into the nasal cavity and nasopharynx. Bony structures were osteolytic. After removing almost 80% of the mass, the tumor recurred a few months later. Due to severe respiratory distress and subsequent to an ultrasound diagnosis of a liver tumor, the dog was euthanized. In addition to the nasal mass, a single nodule in the liver and multiple nodules in the lung were present. All masses had similar cell morphology and were diagnosed as metastasizing esthesioneuroblastoma. The neoplastic cells expressed neuron-specific enolase and chromogranin A, and a few cells within the nasal mass were positive for cytokeratin. This is the first description of a canine esthesioneuroblastoma with distant metastases.

Long‐term control of olfactory neuroblastoma in a dog treated with surgery and radiation therapy

“…12 Intensitymodulated radiation therapy has been recently suggested as an equally effective treatment to surgery, and with reduced toxicity from radiation. 15 Seizures developed in our patient more than 1 year after radiation therapy and yet without obvious lesions on MRI. In one dog, although the tumour was less advanced (correlating with modified Kadish stage B) and lower grade (grade I or II), and the prescribed total radiation dosage was higher than we used (53 Gy given discontinuously in 14 fractions over an 8-week period vs 48.06 Gy given as 18 × 2.67 Gy fractions over a 3.5-week period in our patient), there was tumour recurrence 4 months after treatment.…”

“…Tumour recurrence was documented after 8 months, as well as development of hepatic and pulmonary metastases. 15 Seizures developed in our patient more than 1 year after radiation therapy and yet without obvious lesions on MRI. The cause is not certain, but seems unlikely to be tumour recurrence, because of the lack of progression of any lesion on MRI.…”

What is your diagnosis? Fine‐needle aspirate from a nasal mass in a dog

“…They are both uncommon to rare neoplasms with a relatively small number of cases reported. Both are locally infiltrative and can involve invasion of the brain, and both have the potential for widespread metastases, though it has been rarely reported in ON with a few more individual cases reported for NEC . Longer term control has been achieved using a combination of surgery and radiation with survival times up to 20 months reported in an ON case …”

Clinical outcomes, ultrastructure and immunohistochemical features of canine high‐grade olfactory neuroblastoma

“…Depending on the location, patients can present with upper respiratory or neurologic clinical signs . While these neoplasms rarely metastasize, they are locally destructive …”

“…ONB in humans immunolabels with neuron‐specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, chromogranin, S‐100 (sustentacular staining) and has variable staining of Class III beta‐tubulin (TuJ‐1), GFAP, AE1/AE3 and MAP2 . Canine ONB is also reported to express NSE, synaptophysin, chromogranin, S‐100, GFAP, AEI/AE3 and MAP2 . However, in dogs, nonspecific immunolabelling confounds the use of NSE and staining with many of the aforementioned antibodies is variable.…”