title: Coccidioidomycosis in Biopsies with Presumptive Diagnosis of Malignancy in Dogs: Report of Three Cases and Comparative Discussion of Published Reports.
abstract: Coccidioidomycosis is a respiratory fungal infection with occasional systemic dissemination. The disseminated coccidioidomycosis is considered a multifaceted disease. In medicine, disseminated coccidioidomycosis is included within a group of infectious diseases that have been referred as the great imitators. In many cases, malignancies are included in the presumptive diagnosis. In veterinary medicine, disseminated coccidioidomycosis is common in dogs. Nonetheless, despite of being a diagnostic dilemma, disseminated coccidioidomycosis is underestimated and frequently not included into differentials, even in endemic zones. Herein, we describe three cases of granulomatous inflammation caused by Coccidioides spp. which were masquerading malignancies in dogs (0.39 %). The presumptive diagnoses in these cases were osteosarcoma, lymphoma and neurofibroma, respectively. A PCR assay employing tissues in paraffin blocks resulted positive for C. posadasii in one of these cases. A comparative discussion on the ambiguous clinic-pathological presentation of disseminated coccidioidomycosis in dogs and humans is included.
authors.affiliation: Posgrado Conjunto Agronomía-Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Av. Francisco Villa s/n, Ex-Hacienda el Canadá, C.P. 66050, Gral. Escobedo, N.L., México. raramirez@prodigy.net.mx.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Romero
authors.affiliation: Posgrado Conjunto Agronomía-Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Av. Francisco Villa s/n, Ex-Hacienda el Canadá, C.P. 66050, Gral. Escobedo, N.L., México.
authors.forename: Rolando Antonio
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Silva-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Banco de Hueso y Tejidos, Hospital Universitario "Dr. José E. González", Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, N.L., México.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lara-Arias
authors.affiliation: Posgrado Conjunto Agronomía-Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Av. Francisco Villa s/n, Ex-Hacienda el Canadá, C.P. 66050, Gral. Escobedo, N.L., México.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Hernández
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias de la Salud (CIDICS), Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, N.L., México.
authors.forename: Iván Alberto
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Marino-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Universitario, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, N.L., México.
authors.forename: Álvaro
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Barbosa-Quintana
authors.affiliation: Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Mayagoitia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D003045:Coccidioides / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004285:Dogs; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D057089:Pathology, Molecular; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
keywords: Coccidioidomycosis; Dog; Mexico; Neoplasia; Surgical pathology