Quantitative analysis in canine cutaneous mast cell tumors

摘要

Dogs have a unique risk of developing cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs), which account for 7–21% of all canine skin tumors.1-4 Furthermore, MCTs are reported to be the most common canine skin tumors submitted for histology and diagnosed in veterinary teaching hospital populations,1,2,5,6 with an incidence of 129 in 100,000 dogs per year in one U.K. study of insured dogs.7 Several factors have been used to predict the biologic behavior of MCTs, including clinical stage, growth rate, systemic signs, anatomic location, histologic grade, number of argyrophylic nucleolar organizer regions, presence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and number of Ki-67 positive nuclei.8,9 Among these, histologic grade is the most reliable in predicting survival.8,10-12 However, reproducibility problems lead to as much as 50–60% discordance between experienced pathologists.13,14 We have analyzed cytologic samples from 24 canine spontaneous cutaneous MCTs. Postoperative follow-up information was collected for a period of 40 weeks in all cases.