Rhabdoid tumor in the brain of a dog

Rhabdoid tumor is a neoplasm of uncertain cellular origin recognized in humans. These tumors most commonly arise in the kidneys of children, but they can also affect many extrarenal sites, including the central nervous system. Similar neoplasms have not been reported in nonprimate species. A malignant brain tumor in a young dog was characterized by large cells with globular intracytoplasmic inclusions composed of intermediate filaments. By immunohistochemistry, neoplastic cells were uniformly reactive for vimentin and demonstrated scattered reactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein and neuron-specific enolase. The intermediate filaments also reacted with vimentin antibodies by immunogold electron microscopy. The findings in this case are remarkably similar to the histologic, ultrastructural, and immunocytochemical features of rhabdoid tumors in humans.