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Case Reports
. 2023 Mar 22:10:1126477.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1126477. eCollection 2023.

Case report: Hemangioblastoma in the brainstem of a dog

Kirsten Landsgaard  1 , Samantha St Jean  1 , Stephanie Lovell  2 , Jonathan Levine  2 , Christine Gremillion  3 , Brian Summers  4 , Raquel R Rech  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Case report: Hemangioblastoma in the brainstem of a dog

Kirsten Landsgaard et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

A 3-year-old castrated male, American Pit Bull Terrier presented to Texas A&M University due to a 3-week mixed cerebellar and general proprioceptive ataxia, circling, head tilt, and dull mentation. Neurologic examination revealed signs of vestibular and mesencephalic dysfunction. Postmortem examination revealed a 1.1 × 1 × 0.8-cm, soft, dark red, well-circumscribed, left-sided mass, extending from the crus cerebri of the midbrain caudally to the pons. Microscopically, the neoplasm was composed of a spindle-shaped interstitial population of cells interspersed between a prominent capillary network, consistent with the reticular pattern of hemangioblastoma. Interstitial cells had strong, diffuse, intracytoplasmic immunolabeling for neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and were variably positive for intracytoplasmic glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Vascular endothelial cells had strong diffuse, intracytoplasmic immunolabeling for von Willebrand factor (VWF) glycoprotein. To date, only six cases of hemangioblastoma have been reported in canines, five in the spinal cord, and one in the rostral cerebrum. Our case may represent the first canine hemangioblastoma localized to the brainstem.

Keywords: blood vessel; brain; canine; case report; central nervous system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sagittal T2W fat-suppressed image (A), transverse T2W image (B), transverse FLAIR image (C), transverse T2*W image (D), transverse T1W image (E), and transverse post-contrast T1W image (F). There is a large, strongly contrast-enhancing intra-axial mass [white arrowheads, (A–F)] expanding the brainstem with resultant perilesional edema [black arrowhead, (A)]. Note the multiple regions of the signal void within the mass in (D). The mesencephalic aqueduct is dorsally displaced and compressed by the mass [white arrow, (F)]. The lateral ventricles are mildly asymmetrically dilated in (B–F).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The transverse section of the pons shows a focal, large, bulging hemorrhagic predominantly left-sided mass (1 cm).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hemangioblastoma with a prominent network of congested capillary vessels and stellate interstitial cells; 20 μm scale bar, H&E, 40×.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Neuron-specific enolase immunolabels the cytoplasm of the widely dispersed interstitial cells, clarifying cell shapes and sizes; 20 μm scale bar NSE, 40×.
Figure 5
Figure 5
von Willebrand factor immunolabels the capillary endothelial cell cytoplasm of the capillaries, with negative interstitial cells (red circles); 20 μm scale bar vWF, 40×.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Glial fibrillary acidic protein variably immunolabels the cytoplasm of the interstitial cells; 20 μm scale bar GFAP, 40×.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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