Korean J Vet Res.  2014 Mar;54(1):7-12.

Cutaneous peripheral nerve sheath tumors in 15 dogs

• Ko SB
• Song KO
• Kang SC
• Kim JH

Abstract

Peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) are heterogeneous tumor groups of peripheral nerves that originate from either Schwann cells or modified Schwann cells, fibroblasts, or perineural cells. In this study, signalment and clinical data such as tumor location and size were evaluated for 15 cases of PNSTs collected from local animal hospitals. The mean age of dogs with malignant PNST was higher than that of dogs with benign PNST. Additionally, the male to female ratio in dogs with PNST was 1 : 4. In dogs with PNST, the primary sites of involvement were the hindlimb, forelimb, around the mammary glands, the neck, and the abdomen. Histiopathologic examination revealed that eight PNSTs were benign and seven were malignant. The tumor cells were composed of loosely to densely arranged interlacing bundles and wavy spindle cells arranged in short bundles, palisading, and whirling. High mitotic figures, local invasion, multifocal necrosis and atypical multinucleated giant cells were observed in malignant PNST cases. All PNSTs showed immunoreactivity for vimentin and S-100. However, only 93.3% and 73.3% were immunoreactive for NSE and GFAP, respectively. Overall, these results indicated that immunohistochemical markers such as vimentin, S-100 and NSE could help confirm the diagnosis of canine PNSTs.

Keyword

dog; immunohistochemistry; peripheral nerve sheath tumors; Schwann cell; spindle cell

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Animals
Diagnosis
Dogs*
Female
Fibroblasts
Forelimb
Giant Cells
Hindlimb
Hospitals, Animal
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Male
Mammary Glands, Human
Neck
Necrosis
Nerve Sheath Neoplasms*
Peripheral Nerves*
Schwann Cells
Vimentin
Vimentin