Clinical Description of Metastatic Cutaneous Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) in a Greyhound Dog: Clinical Case Study

Abstract

Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is a type of cancer that has different clinical presentations and therefore different effects, since, depending on each case, different treatment options will exist. While in the case of cutaneous HSA the first line of treatment is always surgical removal of the tumor, metastatic foci should be sought and then perform chemotherapy, despite them having a low metastatic potential. Moreover, the low survival that exists in this type of cancer is a factor that should be communicated to those responsible for the pets, so that, with all available information, they can make a free and informed choice about the treatment they want for their pet, considering the financial commitment, survival time and quality of life associated with chemotherapy. This article describes the clinical case of a female greyhound dog of eight years of age that was brought to consultation for a skin tumor on the right hind limb in the distal tibia. She was diagnosed with noninvasive cutaneous HSA through histopathology, reason why the owners chose not to do the chemotherapy however, 10 months later she presented recurrent skin lesions and a popliteal lymph node corresponding to hemangiosarcoma and hemangioma respectively, and three weeks later the patient developed cardiac tamponade due to a cardiac mass with associated spill, which resulted in her euthanasia.