MORTE SÚBITA EM UM CÃO ACOMETIDO POR HEMANGIOSSARCOMA MULTICÊNTRICO COM ENVOLVIMENTO CEREBRAL

Abstract

The neoplasms in dogs and cats have been commonly diagnosed in recent years. This is due to the increased longevity of these animals. Among the neoplasms of the dogs, vascular tumors of origin are noteworthy. Hemangioma is the benign variant and hemangiosarcoma is its malignant variant. Hemangiosarcomas induce metastasis to various organs. The present work aims to describe a case of sudden death in a dog with metastatic cerebral hemangiosarcoma attended at the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Paraíba, situated in Areia-PB. A six-year-old female dog, without a defined breed, underwent clinical examination and some complementary tests such as hemogram, ultrasonography, radiography, and histopathology. No changes were observed on the blood count. Histopathological examination through the biopsy was diagnosed as cutaneous hemangiosarcoma. The nodule was removed by surgical resection. After twenty-one days the animal returned with vomiting, vocalization, hyperreflexion of the thoracic limbs, stupor or semi-comatose state. In the evaluation of the hemogram, normocytic, hypochromic, regenerative anemia was observed. The leukogram showed neutrophilia with nuclear deviation to the right. In the sonographic findings, splenomegaly, suggestive of primary or metastatic neoplasm, was observed in the urinary bladder indicative of mild cystitis and the kidneys alterations suggestive of chronic nephropathy. Two radiopaque spherical images suggestive of neoplasm were observed in the radiographic examination. The dog died suddenly and was sent to necropsy in the Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology. At necropsy, blackened and hemorrhagic nodules of various sizes were observed in the brain, kidneys and lungs. Histopathological evaluation revealed non-encapsulated, non-delimited masses formed by neoplastic mesenchymal cells. The cytoplasm varied from moderate to scarce. The nuclei were pleomorphic with loose chromatin and two evident nucleoli and several vascular spaces in different sizes, filled by erythrocytes. It is concluded that neoplasms of vascular origin are common, but there are few reports of sudden death after clot disruption due to intracerebral hemangiosarcoma metastasis.