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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
Operating Procedures of the Electrochemotherapy for Treatment of Tumor in Dogs and Cats
Published on: October 24, 2016
Choroidal neuroendocrine neoplasia in a dog
Danica R Lucyshyn1, Kelly E Knickelbein2, Steven R Hollingsworth1
1Department of Veterinary Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Objective:
To report onset and progression of clinical signs of a neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) presumed metastatic to the choroid in a dog.
Animals Studied:
A 7.5-year-old female spayed German shepherd dog mix referred for advanced imaging and evaluation of a subretinal mass in the right eye.
Procedures:
Procedures performed included general physical and ophthalmic examinations; ocular, orbital, and abdominal ultrasonography; thoracic radiographs; cranial magnetic resonance imaging; serologic testing for infectious agents; analysis of hematologic as well as serum and urine biochemical parameters; echocardiography; electrocardiography; cytologic assessment of lymph nodes; and histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the enucleated globe.
Results:
Examination and imaging identified a pigmented mass within and expanding the superior choroid. Following enucleation, a choroidal NEN with tumor emboli in scleral blood vessels was diagnosed by histopathologic assessment and confirmed by immunohistochemical labelling. Despite extensive and repeated diagnostic testing over many months, a putative primary site was not identified until 19 months after the initial ocular signs were noted. At that time, a heart-base mass and congestive heart failure were highly suggestive of a chemodectoma.
Conclusion:
This comprehensive report of a NEN presumed metastatic to the choroid in a dog suggests that ocular disease can be a very early and solitary sign of NEN in the dog.
