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CLINICAL AND CYTOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LINGUAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA IN FIVE CATS

The oral cavity is the fourth most common site of neoplasia in cats, and the great majority of tumours such as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are malignant. There is no sex predisposition to SCC in cats and it appears mostly in older cats. Predisposing factors could be a viral infection, a chronic bacterial infection located in the oral cavity and a mechanical irritation of the tongue. Feline oral SCCs are highly invasive, but have a low metastatic potential. Therefore, they cause the majority of pathologic changes at the site. The most common clinical signs of lingual tumours are excessive salivation, inability to eat or drink, an enlargement of the tongue, bleeding and anorexia. Differential diagnoses include leukoplakia, papilloma, fibroma and adenoma. Five female mixed-breed cats, aged from 6 to 16 years, were presented at the Clinic for Surgery, Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagreb. Tumours were observed at the ventral or dorsal part of the tongue basis. The X-ray of the thorax was unremarkable in all of the cases. The blood count showed a mild anaemia and leukocytosis. A fine needle aspiration (FNA) of the tumours was performed and cytological specimens were stained by using the Giemsa method. In all of the cases, squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed. The cytological findings in all of the cases showed the presence of a large number of single, large keratinocytes and irregular groups of cuboid, small, basal cell types. There were also poorly differentiated epithelial, polygonal cells with moderate anisocytosis and anisokaryosis, scant cytoplasm and large nuclei with prominent nucleoli. There was also an inflammatory reaction characterised by the presence of neutrophils and macrophages.In all 5 cases, the tumours were inoperable due to the size of the tumours as well as their position. Symptomatic and supportive therapy was administered.

clinical ; cytological ; characteristics ; tongue ; squamous cell carcinoma ; cat

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