Subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma induced by a foreign body (steel staple) in a cat

An 8-year-old, female domestic shorthair cat was presented with a ventral abdominal subcutaneous mass. A radiograph showed that the center of the mass contained what appeared to be steel sutures, presumed to be from an ovariohysterectomy performed 7 years earlier. The excised mass was irregular and contained numerous pockets filled with friable necrotic material and hemorrhages that were dissected by fibrous connective tissue bands. Multiple tangled and fragmented pieces of steel staples were deeply embedded within the mass. Histologically, the mass was non-encapsulated, densely cellular, and infiltrative. Neoplastic cells lined caverns and channels and were factor VIII-positive by immunohistochemistry. The neoplastic cells were oval to round with granular cytoplasm and vesicular nucleus and exhibited moderate cellular and nuclear pleomorphism. A diagnosis of subcutaneous hemangiosarcoma was made. To our knowledge, this is the first report of foreign body associated hemangiosarcoma and the first case of steel staple associated neoplasm in domestic animals.