Histopathologic and immunophenotypic characterization of extramedullary plasmacytomas in nine cats

To contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the literature on the apparently rare extramedullary plasmacytoma in cats, lymphoid tumors with plasmacytic cellular morphology taken from nine cats were examined. The paraffin-embedded material was investigated by standard hematoxylin and eosin, and special staining techniques (Giemsa, Congo-red, and periodic acid-Schiff reaction). The tumors also were examined immunohistochemically for the presence of immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin M, immunoglobulin light chains (lambda, kappa), various amyloid proteins, and FeLV-antigen (p27 protein). An immunoglobulin-producing tumor of plasmacellular origin (extramedullary plasmacytoma [EMP]) could be diagnosed in all cases on the basis of immunohistochemical light-chain expression. All but one of the neoplasms occurred in the skin of older, predominantly male cats. As in humans and dogs, the following types could be identified according to their morphologic features: mature type (two), cleaved type (two), asynchronous type (four), and polymorphous type (one). The tumor tissue of three cats revealed amyloid deposits, which were immunohistochemically diagnosed as ALlambda-amyloid in all three cases.