Molecular Heterogeneity of Canine Cutaneous Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors: A Drawback in the Diagnosis Refinement.
OBJECTIVE
Peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) belong to a very heterogeneous group of neoplasms occurring both in dogs and humans. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the histological and immunohistochemical features of canine cutaneous PNSTs contributing to further refine their diagnosis.


METHODS
The histopathological phenotype and biological behavior of 40 canine cutaneous PNSTs were evaluated and vimentin, S-100, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), desmin, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Ki-67 immunoreactivity were assessed.


RESULTS
Respectively, 17 and 23 lesions were classified as benign and malignant PNSTs. The malignant lesions were more often positive for S-100 and presented a proliferation index significantly higher when compared to the benign ones (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The differential diagnosis of PNST on routine stained samples is difficult and the immunohistochemical examination may contribute to the final diagnosis. However, these lesions present a complex histogenesis and show very variable individual features; thus, an unequivocally immunohistochemical panel that could have supported the PNST diagnostic was not achieved. Nevertheless, we concluded that Ki-67 can be a useful marker helping to discriminate the biological behavior of canine PNST.
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Sílvia
S
Teixeira
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, (i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal.
Irina
I
Amorim
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Alexandra
A
Rêma
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Fátima
F
Faria
Department of Pathology and Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal fgartner@ipatimup.pt.|Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, (i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal.
Fátima
F
Gärtner
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D003893:Desmin / Q000378:metabolism; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018317:Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000378:metabolism; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
D000199:Actins; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D003893:Desmin; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009418:S100 Proteins; D014746:Vimentin; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase
Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA); Ki-67; S-100; desmin; dog; glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP); immunohistochemistry (IHC); neuron-specific enolase (NSE); peripheral nerve sheath tumor (PNST); vimentin