Page 1552 - Clinical Small Animal Internal Medicine

1490 Section 12 Skin and Ear Diseases

primary lung tumors, particularly bronchial and bron- in association with thymic lymphoma and one with
VetBooks.ir choalveolar adenocarcinoma. This syndrome warrants splenic spindle cell sarcoma. Only one case has been
reported in a cat, in association with lymphocytic
mention because affected cats are most often presented
for their skin disease rather than for pulmonary disease.
neoplastic process which targets epithelial adhesion
Multiple digits on multiple feet are commonly involved. thymoma. Autoantibodies develop as a result of the
The most commonly recognized clinical signs on pres- molecules, mainly of the plakin family, leading to loss of
entation include swelling of the distal digits, ulceration cellular cohesion.
of the skin of the digit or nailfold, purulent discharge, as Clinically, the disease is severe and very similar to
well as constant extrusion, deviation, or loss of the nail. pemphigus vulgaris in which vesicobullous and erosive
The diagnosis is made by radiography of the digits, to ulcerative lesions predominate in the skin and mucosal
which reveals osteolysis of the third phalanx, by thoracic surfaces. Histologically, it bears some of the same fea-
radiography, and by digital biopsy. Clinical signs and tures of pemphigus vulgaris but also features of erythema
radiography can provide a high index of suspicion for multiforme and the diagnosis is made on the basis of skin
“lung‐digit” syndrome. The prognosis for affected cats is biopsies and investigation for underlying neoplasia.
grave, with a median survival time of 67 days after pres- Other cancers are sometimes associated with skin
entation in one study. lesions. Superficial necrolytic dermatitis, although most
commonly associated with liver disease, has also been
found in dogs with pancreatic glucagonoma, in a cat with
Paraneoplastic Pemphigus
a pancreatic tumor, and recently in a cat with primary
Paraneoplastic pemphigus is a very rare blistering dis- hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma. One of the underly-
ease involving the skin, mucocutaneous junctions, and ing causes for generalized adult‐onset demodicosis is
mucosal surfaces. It has been reported in two dogs, one neoplasia, particularly indolent lymphoma.

Further Reading

Goldfinch N, Argyle DJ. Feline lung‐digit syndrome: Miller WH, Griffin CE, Campbell KL. Muller and Kirk’s
unusual metastatic patterns of primary lung tumours in Small Animal Dermatology, 7th edn. St Louis, MO:
cats. J Feline Med Surg 2012; 14(3): 202–8. Elsevier, 2013.
Gross TL, Ihrke PJ, Walder EJ, Affolter VK. Skin Diseases of Outerbridge CA. Cutaneous manifestations of internal
the Dog and Cat: Clinical and Histopathologic Diagnosis, diseases. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2013;
2nd edn. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 43(1): 135–52.
Malik R, Lessels NS, Webb S, et al. Treatment of feline www.caninechiariinstitute.org/ – this site contains very
herpesvirus‐1 associated disease in cats with famciclovir useful information on canine Chiari‐like malformation
and related drugs. J Feline Med Surg 2009; 11(1): 40–8. (accessed July 18, 2019).