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Comparison of Fine‐Needle Aspiration and Surgical‐Tissue Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Canine Brain Tumors
Author(s) -
Platt Simon R.,
Alleman A. Rick,
Lanz Otto I.,
Chrisman Cheryl L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
veterinary surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1532-950X
pISSN - 0161-3499
DOI - 10.1053/jvet.2002.29456
Subject(s) - medicine , biopsy , fine needle aspiration , pathology , radiology , surgical pathology , open biopsy , cytology , brain biopsy
Objective— To compare the diagnoses obtained using fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) and surgical‐tissue biopsy of focal cerebral masses with the histologic diagnoses obtained via necropsy. Study Design— A prospective case series. Sample Population— Ten client‐owned adult dogs of various breeds. All dogs had clinical signs of cerebral disease and had a focal brain mass identified using magnetic resonance imaging; all were eventually euthanatized. Methods— Immediately after euthanasia, the brains were removed en bloc from the cranial cavity. FNAs were obtained from each mass using a 22‐gauge hypodermic needle and a 12‐mL syringe. Cytologic preparations were made from each aspirate. A 14‐gauge Tru‐cut biopsy needle was used to obtain a core tissue sample from each mass. The biopsy specimens were fixed in 10% buffered formalin and submitted for histologic evaluation. The brains were similarly fixed and stained. Six‐micrometer‐thick transverse sections of the brain were examined microscopically. Results— Neoplasia was confirmed in all dogs histologically in the 6‐μm transverse sections. Four meningiomas, 2 astrocytomas, 2 oligodendrogliomas, 1 pituitary adenocarcinoma, and 1 neurofibrosarcoma were identified. FNA correctly identified all of the masses as neoplastic. Cytologic diagnoses correlated with the histologic interpretation in 5 of the masses (50%). Tru‐cut biopsy specimens identified all 10 masses as neoplastic; in 9 of the 10 (90%), the diagnosis correlated with the histologic diagnosis. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance— FNA is a sensitive method that can be used to determine the presence of neoplasia in the brain, but is not as definitive as the Tru‐cut biopsy in determining the specific type of cerebral neoplasm.