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Published on: March 30, 2018
[Non-epitheliotropic B-cell lymphoma with atypical spindle cell morphology in a Weimaraner dog]
Insights
A rare canine cutaneous non-epitheliotropic B-cell lymphoma with atypical spindle-cell morphology was identified in a Weimaraner dog. This unique presentation mimics findings previously only seen in human medicine.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Pathology
- Dermatology
- Oncology
Background:
- Cutaneous lymphomas in dogs are uncommon, with non-epitheliotropic B-cell types being particularly rare.
- Spindle-cell morphology in cutaneous B-cell lymphoma has been described in human medicine but is exceptionally rare in veterinary cases.
Observation:
- An 11-year-old male Weimaraner presented with multiple skin nodules and proliferations.
- Cytological examination revealed pleomorphic, spindle-shaped cells with features suggestive of lymphoma.
- Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed a non-epitheliotropic B-cell lymphoma.
Findings:
- The canine lymphoma exhibited an unusual spindle-cell morphology, deviating from typical epitheliotropic presentations.
- Immunohistochemistry confirmed the B-cell origin of the neoplastic lymphocytes.
- The neoplastic cells lacked epitheliotropism, meaning they did not infiltrate the epidermis.
Implications:
- This case highlights a rare variant of canine cutaneous B-cell lymphoma, expanding the differential diagnosis for skin neoplasms in dogs.
- The spindle-cell morphology may pose diagnostic challenges and warrants consideration of human parallels.
- Further research into the pathogenesis and treatment of this rare canine lymphoma variant is warranted.
Abstract:
The case report describes a very rare cutaneous non-epitheliotropic B-cell lymphoma in an 11-year-old male Weimaraner dog, which presented with multiple cutaneous proliferations. In addition to numerous cytoplasmic fragments of lymphatic cells, the cytological examination of a fine-needle aspirate taken from a skin nodule revealed a population of pleomorphic plump to spindle-shaped cells with round to oval nuclei, fine chromatin structure, moderate amounts of a lightly basophilic cytoplasm and predominantly indistinct cell boundaries. These findings suggested a possible cutaneous spindle-cell lymphoma, thus a biopsy was taken. In the histopathological examination, the cells displayed no epitheliotropism and immunohistochemically they were positive for multiple B-cell markers. In addition to the rarity of cutaneous non-epitheliotropic B-cell lymphomas per se, the special feature of this case is the atypical spindle-cell morphology of the lymphatic cells. A spindle-cell variant of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma has to date only been described in human medicine.
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