Primary canine cutaneous meningioma

Meningothelial hamartoma on the forehead of a young cat

A 1 year and 2-months-old neutered male cat underwent surgical resection of a cutaneous nodule on the midline of the forehead that had been present since approximately 6 months of age. Histopathologically, the nodule was composed of interlacing collagenous fibres interspersed with varying numbers of spindloid cells with round to oval nuclei and moderate to abundant amounts of pale eosinophilic cytoplasm. Similar to meningothelial cells, the spindloid cells were immunopositive for vimentin, neuron-specific enolase, E-cadherin and somatostatin receptor 2. Based on these findings and the absence of nuclear atypia and mitotic figures, the nodule was diagnosed as meningothelial hamartoma. Although cases of cutaneous meningioma have been reported, this is the first report of meningothelial hamartoma in a domestic animal.

Primary extracranial nasopharyngeal meningioma in a dog

An 8-year-old Labrador Retriever was presented for inspiratory efforts with stertor. A rhinoscopy and a magnetic resonance imaging scan were performed and revealed a naso-pharyngeal mass. The mass was identified in the nasopharynx without meningeal extension. This mass was both T1- and T2-hyperintense, compared to normal brain parenchyma without significant postcontrast enhancement. The mass was surgically removed and the histologic diagnosis was a mesenchymal tumor. Immunohistochemistry with antibodies was conducted and consistent with an extracranial meningioma. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report documenting a primary extracranial nasopharyngeal meningioma in a dog.

Periocular extracranial cutaneous meningiomas in two dogs

Cutaneous meningiomas are rare tumors in human beings and animals. Two canine cases of cutaneous meningiomas affecting the eyelid are described in the current study: the first from a 5-week-old female Springer Spaniel dog with an 8 cm in diameter congenital mass expanding the left upper eyelid and medial canthus; the second from a 10-year-old female spayed Maltese-Poodle mix dog with 3 firm subcutaneous nodules affecting the right upper eyelid. All masses were removed surgically. Histologically, tumors were composed of spindle-to-epithelioid cells arranged in small lobules forming solid concentric whorls. Neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin and S100 and negative for pancytokeratin, glial fibrillar acid protein, and neurofilament. Transmission electron microscopy revealed meningothelial cells with convoluted interdigitating processes, desmosomes, and hemidesmosomes, and moderate numbers of cytoplasmic microfilaments. None of the cases presented a primary neuroaxial meningioma. The first case presents clinicopathological features consistent with human type I (congenital) cutaneous meningioma. The second case is consistent with a type II (acquired ectopic) tumor, and both are hypothesized to arise from ectopic arachnoid cells displaced during development.

Paranasal meningioma in the dog: a clinicopathologic study of ten cases

Paranasal meningiomas were diagnosed in ten dogs based on gross and light microscopic examinations of tissue specimens, and, in one case, electron microscopic examination. Seven of ten dogs were female (average age was 13 years). Most dogs (7/10) had seizures on examination. Two dogs with meningioma located in the nasal cavity had nasal discharge, and one had epistaxis. Tumors originated in the nasoparanasal region (eight) and frontal region of the cranial cavity (two). The histologic types of meningioma included psammomatous (two), transitional (three), meningotheliomatous (two), fibroblastic (two), and angioblastic (one). Tumors were malignant and extended to the brain in eight cases. These tumors differed from intracranial meningiomas mainly in their more anaplastic nature and aggressive behavior.

Intracranial meningioma: a comparative pathologic study of 28 dogs

Intracranial meningiomas were identified in 28 dogs based on histologic examination of tissue. The average age of the dogs was 11 years, and 83% (20/24) were 10 years old or older. German shepherd and mixed breed were most common (31% each, 8/26). Grossly, meningiomas were oval, dome-shaped and flattened masses adherent to the dura and compressing the brain. Forty-eight percent (15/26) of the tumors affected the dorsal surface of the brain, and two thirds of these were located in the anterior half. Histologically, tumor types were transitional (13), meningotheliomatous (11), angioblastic (three), and fibroblastic (one). There was direct invasion of the brain in 27% (6/22) although we observed neurologic signs and pathologic changes in 88% (23/26) and 90% (18/20) of the dogs, respectively. Intracranial meningioma can be compared and contrasted with this tumor in man and cats.

Ectopic meningioma of a finger. Case report

A case of an ectopic meningioma in a 67-year-old woman is presented. The tumor was located subcutaneously on the little finger of her right hand. Microscopic examination revealed a typical psammomatous meningioma with no signs of malignancy. The location of this tumor is most unusual, and theories regarding its histogenesis are briefly discussed. A neuroectodermal origin is suggested.