Four examples of metastatic canine cutaneous nodules

The causes of single or multiple cutaneous nodules are many. It is important to perform fine‐needle aspirations for cytological examination and to perform skin biopsies. In certain cases a surgical excision of the entire nodule, with a subsequent histological examination, is a simpler approach. When the nodule represents a cutaneous metastasis of a primary neoplasia and is the only sign of the tumour, the aetiology of the nodule can sometimes be rather uncommon. The diagnosis may be made more difficult when the lesion is isolated, appears benign, is in an unusual location (cranial aspect of foreleg, dorsal trunk or scapular region) or is difficult to excise due to haemostasis and local tissue infiltration. The histological interpretation can sometimes prove to be a complicated matter, requiring the use of specific markers to identify anapaestic tumour, but nonetheless is necessary in order to be able to characterize the primary tumour. Using these four examples, a description is provided of the distant localization of an ovarian dysgerminoma in an Afghan hound bitch, a mammary adenocarcinoma in a Labrador bitch, and an extraskeletal mammary osteosarcoma in a doberman bitch and a vesicular adenocarcinoma in a Briard dog. In the last two cases cited, the Alamartine–Ball–Cadiot syndrome was in its final stage of development.