Hamartomas in cats
From Felipedia
Hamartoma are a rare form of neoplasia, and may present in any body organ. They are usually present at or near birth, and the affected animal usually develop symptoms early in age (average age approximately 7 months at time of diagnosis).
In cats, they are frequently seen in the brain and stomach, but have also been isolated in lung[1], kidney[2] and gingiva[3].
Gastric hamartoma have been reported in cats, but are not as common as gastric lymphoma[4], gastric adenocarcinoma, mast cell tumours or benign adenomatous polyps
The differential diagnosis for any cat with progressive central nervous system signs include inflammatory disease (DIC), infectious disease (FIP, toxoplasmosis, FIV, FeLV, bacterial, rickettsial infection and cryptococcal and other fungal organisms), degenerative disorders (lysosomal storage diseases, neuronal abiotrophies, and neuronal dystrophies), malformations, or more rarely, intracranial neoplasia.
Various vascular malformations of the central nervous system have been described in both humans and animals including hamartoma, haemangiomas, meningioangiomatosis, and arteriovenous malformations. Hamartomas are focal malformations that resemble neoplasms and are formed by disorderly overgrowth of tissue elements normally at that site. Hamartomas can be regarded as a link between neoplasms and malformations. The aberrant growth causes problems due to adherence to the adjacent tissue and secondary compression. It is however important to recognise them as a differential diagnosis for intracranial lesions in cats because, depending on the site of the lesion and the degree of invasiveness, surgical resection may be a viable option.
References
- ↑ Drolet, R & Phaneuf, JB (1983) Pulmonary condromatous hamartoma in a young cat. Vet Rec 3:542-542
- ↑ Wang, F et al (2001) Unilateral concurrence of pyelocaliceal diverticula and intracapsular angiomyolipoma in the kidney of a cat. J Vet Diagn Invest 13:167-169
- ↑ Padgett, SL, et al (1997) Gingival vascular harmartoma with associated paraneoplastic hyperglycaemia in a kitten. J Am Vet Med Assoc 210:914-915
- ↑ Smith, TJ et al (2010) Gastric smooth muscle harmartoma in a cat. JFMS 12:334-337
