Systemic Candidiasis and Mesenteric Mast Cell Tumor with Multiple Metastases in a Dog

Abstract

ABSTRACT. A 5-year-old female miniature dachshund presenting with persistent vomiting and diarrhea had two concurrent rare pathological conditions: systemic candidiasis and mesenteric mast cell tumor with multiorgan metastases. Neoplastic mast cells formed mass in the mesentery of the cecal-colonic region and were also found in the liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, adrenal grands, ovaries, bone marrow and other tissues. The cells had intracytoplasmic granules with metachromasia and were immunohistochemically positive for c-kit and histamine. Granulomatous lesions with fungal organisms were present in the heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, subserosal and surrounding adipose tissue of the duodenum, thyroid glands and mesenteric mass, and phagocytosed organisms were detected in the liver and bone marrow. Bacteriologically and immunohistochemically, the fungi were consistent with Candida albicans. KEY WORDS: candidiasis, canine, mast cell tumor.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 71(2): 229-232, 2009 Candida is a normal inhabitant of the alimentary, upper respiratory, and genital mucosa of mammals and causes oppotunistic mycosis of the mucous membranes [4,6,11]. Cutaneous infection is another manifestation. Systemic dissemination is less frequent and reports of systemic candidiasis are limited in dogs [1,3,8,9,13,16]. For the establishment of candidal infections, a variety of statuses with suppression of the host-defence mechanisms are considered as predisposing conditions [4,6,11]. Mast cell tumor (MCT) is one of the most common neoplasms in canine skin and those originating in extracutaneous organs such as the spleen, liver, and intestine were infrequently reported [5,7]. In this paper, we describe a canine case with two rare conditions, systemic candidiasis and mesenteric MCT with multiorgan metastases, and discuss the possible association between candidal dissemination and generalized MCT.A 5-year-old female miniature dachshund was brought to a veterinarian with persistent vomiting of two weeks' duration, and was administered an H2 receptor antagonist, antibiotics and corticosteroid for a month. Exploratory ventrotomy and gastrotomy revealed no causative lesions. The dog did not show an improvement in vomiting, and presented with diarrhea and progressive weight loss during the next three weeks while she was treated with an H2 receptor antagonist, antiemetic, antibiotics, corticosteroid, and parenteral alimentation via the jugular vein. A subcutaneous mass, about 1 cm in diameter, was detected at the right 5th mammary gland. Radiographs revealed an intraabdominal mass, about 5 cm in diameter, around the ileocecal junction and no abnormalities in the lung field. The ileocecal and cutaneous masses were sampled by fine needle biopsy and surgical excision, respectively. The tissues from the ileocecal mass revealed scattered cells infiltrating in collagenous tissue, but detailed morphology of the cells were not obtained due to severe artifact. The cutaneous mass was composed of proliferation of round to polygonal neoplastic cells mainly ...

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