Suspected Splenic Tumor in Canine

Abstract:
With the increasing lifespan of companion animals such as dogs and cats, the incidence of animal tumors has significantly increased in recent years. The spleen is the largest lymphoid organ of animals. Compared with other organs, the incidence rate of splenic tumor is relatively low, accounting for only 0.03% of all tumor types. The symptom of splenic tumors in canine is not obvious. Unless the tumor is large, it is not easy to develop clinical symptoms and the tumor will be easily overlooked by pet owners.
Key words: 
Canine, MMVD

Bichon Frise, 11 years old, Male

Details:

This dog has poor mental state, with vomiting and loss of appetite. Through abdominal ultrasound examination, it was found that there is a lump in the spleen and diffuse hypoechoic dark areas with low echos.

After scanning, it was found that the spleen was enlarged and occupied most of the abdominal cavity, with large hypoechoic masses visible.

At the tail of the spleen, there is hypoechoic nodule protruding from the surface of envelope.

At the head of the spleen, there is hypoechoic mass with non-uniform echoes.

Based on the above examination results, we can make the preliminary diagnosis of splenomegaly and lesions in this dog. Because the sick dog has a long medical history and its condition worsened,  it is highly suspected to be the splenic tumor.
After communicating with the pet owner, splenectomy was performed on the affected dog. Then the dog was sent to make pathological examination of the spleen tissue to determine the nature of the spleen lesion.

The clinical manifestations of splenic tumors lack specificity, and the pathological types are diverse, making it difficult to diagnose.
Therefore, clinical physicians need to combine clinical symptoms, signs, laboratory tests, imaging evidence, peripheral blood with bone marrow cell morphology analysis, immune cell typing, cytogenetics, and histopathological examination results when making a diagnosis, and pay attention to excluding splenomegaly caused by various infections, liver diseases, hemolytic diseases, etc. Among them, B-ultrasound examination is simple and fast.

Clinical symptoms are related to the size, location, and degree of malignancy of the tumor. Metastatic tumors of the spleen can be asymptomatic or only present as primary symptoms.
Splenectomy is feasible for canine animals that are already diseased.
However, for splenic tumors that have already swollen and spread, the survival period after resection is about half a year, and long-term intermittent antibiotic use is required to control infection.
Based on the physical condition of animals, the postoperative medicine treatment plan can be developed to prevent tumor metastasis and recurrence. Given that splenic tumors in dogs are difficult to detect at the initial stage and deteriorate rapidly, regular physical examinations, early diagnosis and treatment are the key to reducing the deterioration of the disease.

The spleen is a special organ with immune function. It is rich in blood circulation and has low incidence in tumor. Currently, Imaging examination is the main method for diagnosing splenic masses in clinical practice. Ultrasound images can not only display the size of the spleen, but also have high suggestive significance in determining the cystic or substantial nature of the lesion. It is very helpful for observing whether there are enlarged lymph nodes in the splenic hilum area.
hrough careful analysis of imaging features, it is possible to improve the accuracy of splenic tumor diagnosis.