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Diagnosis | Cutaneous hemangiosarcoma

Lab Animal volume 38, pages 50–51 (2009)Cite this article

Hemangiosarcomas are malignant neoplasms of endothelial cell origin that form non-patent, blood-filled vascular spaces and solid, non-vascular masses. Spontaneous hemangiosarcomas have been reported in mice1, rabbits2, rats3, gerbils4 and, most commonly, dogs5. Hemangiosarcomas in mice have been reported in the liver, spleen, lymph node, ovary, testis, uterus, bone marrow, heart, lung, small intestine and skin6,7,8. The organ reported to be most commonly afflicted with hemangiosarcoma in mice is the liver1,6,7,8. Frith and Wiley described hemangiosarcomas in the liver of 72 mice, with 44% (32) of these mice also presenting with hemangiosarcoma involvement of a secondary organ. The highest frequency was noted in BALB/c and C57BL/6 strains over 24 months of age1. Giknis and Clifford examined the prevalence of different neoplasms in various long-term studies of CD-1 mice from 1981 to 2000. They found that the prevalence of hepatic hemangiosarcomas ranged from 1.04% to 2.70% in males and 0.53% to 1.26% in females6,7,8, with the prevalence of secondary organ involvement ranging from 0.9% to 1.13% in males and 0.70% to 0.89% in females7,8. In the same study, prevalence of hemangiosarcomas in the skin of CD-1 mice was higher for females (0.70%) than for males (0.19%)6.

There are scant data published regarding hematology and serum biochemistry changes in mice with hemangiosarcomas. In this mouse, we observed a regenerative normocytic–normochromic anemia with polychromasia and anisocytosis as well as thrombocytopenia on hematology (Table 1). These are similar to the changes noted in dogs with hemangiosarcomas. Additionally, in dogs, neutrophilic leukocytosis may be noted on hematology, along with elevated concentrations of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase enzymes on serum biochemistry9.

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Figure 1: A 20-month-old, female CD-1 mouse with a tail mass.
Figure 2: Photomicrograph of a cross-section of the tail mass from the mouse in Figure 1 stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
Figure 3: Photomicrographs of cross-sections of the tail mass from the mouse from Figure 1 stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
Figure 4: Photomicrograph of a cross-section of the tail mass from the mouse from Figure 1 stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

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Diagnosis | Cutaneous hemangiosarcoma. Lab Anim 38, 50–51 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0209-50

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