Estágio na Clínica Veterinários Associados Lda: relato e discussão de aspectos clinico - patológicos de melanoma e carcinoma de células escamosas digitais em cães

Abstract

The curricular internship took place between December 2, 2024, and March 1, 2025, at Clínica Veterinários Associados Lda. During the internship period, six hundred and six animals were treated, of which 488 were canines, representing 80.53% of the cases treated, 117 were felines, corresponding to 19.31%, and a leopard turtle (Stigmochelys pardalis) was also assisted, representing 0.16% of the treatments. The main cases followed were distributed mainly in the areas of preventive medicine (29.2%), dermatology (11.7%), and otorhinolaryngology (9.4%). Although representing a smaller proportion (2.8%), particular relevance was attributed to oncology, with emphasis on neoplasms of the digits. Regarding complementary examinations, the most frequently performed during the internship were cytological (16.7%) and radiographic (16.4%). Neoplasms affecting the digits of dogs represent a relatively frequent condition in small animal clinics, a condition that, although often underestimated, can represent serious clinical presentations. During the clinical internship, two cases of neoplasms in the digits of dogs of the Scottish Terrier and Dachshund breeds were described, both 10 years old, intact males and treated at the V.A.L Clinic, designated as patient 1 and 2 (P1 and P2). The owners' complaints were lameness and lack of support of the limbs, inflammation of the digit, loss of the nail and recurrent ulcerations. The macroscopic characteristics observed in the lesions were as follows: P1 - ulcerated and necrotic mass on the 5th digit of the hind limb; P2 - inflammation of the 2nd digit of the right forelimb and broken nail. To obtain the diagnosis, hematological, biochemical, radiographic, cytological, and histopathological examinations were performed. The hematological and biochemical examinations allowed for the evaluation of the patient's systemic state, the radiographic examinations allowed for the evaluation of bone integrity, the identification of possible lytic or proliferative lesions, and the detection of signs compatible with tissue invasion. Cytology contributed to a preliminary assessment of cell morphology, guiding the diagnostic suspicion, while the histopathological examination confirmed the tumor type and its biological behavior, constituting the definitive method for characterizing the neoplasm. For both patients, the treatment was amputation by disarticulation. After performing the histopathological examinations, the definitive diagnoses were as follows: P1 - Amelanotic melanoma and P2 - Squamous cell carcinoma. The prognosis was guarded for P1, and moderate to guarded for P2(TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)