CT study of dogs with sternal lymphadenopathy
Sternal lymph nodes (SLNs) drain a multitude of regions in dogs, including the pectoral and shoulder region, the thoracic wall and mammary glands, the mediastinum, thymus, diaphragm and the ventral abdominal wall and peritoneal cavity. Neoplastic conditions of these regions can lead to sternal lymphadenopathy. The aim of this study was to assess the most frequent localizations of the primary neoplasia and the most frequent tumor types in dogs with sternal lymphadenopathy.
For this single-center retrospective descriptive study, dogs with sternal lymphadenopathy and cytological or histological diagnosis of neoplasia were included. Computed tomographic (CT) characteristics of SLNs in dogs with confirmed neoplasia were also described.
Sixty dogs fulfilled the inclusion criteria: 30 (50%) with thoracic neoplasia, 19 (32%) with abdominal neoplasia, 6 (10%) with neoplasia of the front limbs and 5 (8%) with generalized neoplasia. Based on the cytological/histological diagnosis of the primary neoplasia, 31/60 (52%) dogs presented with a sarcoma, 15/60 (25%) with carcinoma, and 14/60 (23%) with round cell tumor.
The presence of heterogeneous contrast enhancement was more frequent in dogs with sarcoma, while the concomitant presence of other abnormal lymph nodes was more frequent in dogs with round cell neoplasia.
Researchers concluded that tumors of diverse types and in various locations can result in sternal lymphadenopathy in dogs. The most frequent tumors in this study were thoracic and abdominal neoplasia, followed by neoplasia of the shoulder region. Sarcoma was the most common tumor type detected in this study, and the main CT characteristic of the SLNs in case of sarcoma was heterogeneous contrast enhancement.
Alessia Cordella, et al. “Sternal lymphadenopathy in dogs with malignancy in different localizations: A CT retrospective study of 60 cases.” Front Vet Sci. 2022 Oct 21; 9:1019196. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1019196.
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