Document Type : Case Report
Authors
1 Department of Environmental sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
2 Assistant professor, Department of veterinary pathobiology, Islamic Azad University, Babol branch, Babol, Iran.
3 Young Researchers and Elite Club, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran
4 Golestan Office of the Environment Department, Gorgan, Iran
Abstract
Keywords
Dermatofibroma is a common dermal nod- ule that is unexplained (Campanacci, 2013). Dermatofibroma is most frequently found in the skin and soft tissues of cats, occasional- ly found in horses and mules, and rarely in other domestic species’ skin, including dogs. Dermatofibroma is usually asymptomatic, but itching and pain are often noted. Derma- tofibroma is the most common of all painful skin tumors (Crisan et al., 2014). The exact mechanism for the development of Derma- tofibroma is unknown. Rather than a reactive tissue change, evidence that Dermatofibroma may be a neoplastic process is demonstrated by its clonal proliferative growth (Chen et al., 2000). The cause of Dermatofibroma is un- known, it was historically attributed to being a reactive response to some traumatic lesion to the skin (e.g. arthropod bite) (Reich et al., 2017). Clonality, by itself, is not necessari- ly synonymous with a neoplastic process; it has been demonstrated in inflammatory con- ditions, including atopic dermatitis, lichen
sclerosis, and psoriasis. Dermatofibroma tu- mor genesis may be due to distorted protein kinase C activity (Płaszczyca et al., 2014).
A seven-year-old female Persian leopard was dead because of accidents a road-kill in Golestan National Park, Iran, in May 2014. Following necropsy, skin mass on the sideline of the right toe was observed. The mass was dissected in necropsy. The resect- ed mass sample was grayish-white in color and measured 2×2×1.5cm, with necrosis at the cut surface (Figure 1). The sample was fixed in 10 % buffered formalin. Serial sections of the formalin-fixed, paraffin-em- bedded sample were produced and serial sections were cut, using a rotary microtome (Leitz, 1512, Germany) at 5 μm. The sam- ples were stained by routine hematoxylin and eosin (HandE) and CD34 immunohis- tochemical staining.
Figure 1. Grayish-white dermal nodule on the right toe in Persian leopard (arrow).
Histopathologic examination showed a non-capsulated, circumscribed and clear demarcated dermal nodule. The nodule contained hypocellular and hyalinized thick bundles of collagen. The collagen bun- dles were shaped in a whorled pattern with prominent clefts. Lymphocyte infiltration was observed between the bundles of col- lagen (Figure 2). Immunohistochemistry is a powerful microscopy-based technique that is important in the differential diagno-
sis of dermatofibroma. In this study, immu- nohistochemical staining revealed positiv- ity for CD34 (Figure 3). Dermatofibroma was diagnosed according to the results of histopathological and immunohistochemi- cal findings. To our knowledge, this is the first report of dermatofibroma in the Per- sian leopard. Previous studies have report- ed CD-positive fibroma in dermatofibrosar- coma, sclerotic fibroma and lip (Alawi and Freedman, 2004; Mcniff et al., 2005; Wang and Sarma, 2007).
Figure 2. Prominent hypocellular, necrosis and hyalinized eosinophilic thick bundles of collagen in a whorled pattern. HandE staining. 10x, 40x.
Figure 3. Immunohistochemistry of the tumor cells. The cells were positive for CD34.
Feline dermatofibroma and fibropapillo- ma have many similarities with each other and with equine sarcoids. The sarcoids most commonly occur in the head, neck, ventral abdomen and limbs (Won et al., 2018). In 2001, Schulman et al. observed that feline fibropapilloma occurred in 12 of 18 cats of known age which were less than 5 years old, and two of the tumors were in the head, neck, ventral abdomen, and limbs (Schul- man et al., 2001).
A fibroma is a common nodule that oc- curs in dogs and cats, a lesion already de- scribed (Kiehl and Mays, 2016); Also, various methods including surgery, radio- therapy and electrochemotherapy, are used in the treatment of skin tumors (Spugnini et al., 2013; Tozon et al., 2016). Sundberg et al. have reported cutaneous fibroma in white-tailed and mule deer (Sundberg et al., 1985). Yeruham and Perl have also report- ed a case of fibroma in a cow (Yeruham and Perl, 2001). Movassaghi and Mohammadi have reported an unusual cutaneous fibro- ma in a heifer (Movassaghi and Mohamma- di, 2009). In a study that was done on Ko- rean Indigenous cattle with dermal painful nodules, dermal fibroma resulting from an increase in collagen-producing fibrocytes in the dermis after the histopathological ex- amination was observed (Jang et al., 2008). In this study, Dermatofibroma was de- tected in the Persian leopard with histo- pathological signs and has been observed on the hands. There is limited information about the Dermatofibroma in leopards. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Dermatofibroma in a Persian leopard. Rec- ognition and pathological diagnosis of tu- mors are very important to supplement the clinical approaches. Additional studies of
these tumors may help in the understanding of oncogenesis’ causes.
The authors sincerely want to thank Ms. Eslami for her help in laboratory experi- ments. We are also grateful to Mr. Mahmood and Masoud Shakiba and Mr. Kheirabadi for managing accessibility to Persian leop- ard’ corpse.
The authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.
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