# Canine Hemangioblastoma: Case Series and Literature Review

## TL;DR

This study describes six cases of canine hemangioblastoma, a rare spinal tumor, and compares its features to human cases, finding similarities in appearance and treatment outcomes.

## Contribution

The first report of peripheral nerve hemangioblastoma in animals and a detailed comparison of canine and human hemangioblastoma features.

## Key findings

- Canine hemangioblastoma shares morphological and immunohistochemical features with human hemangioblastoma.
- Surgery may be effective for intradural-extramedullary and peripheral nerve canine hemangioblastoma.
- This is the first documented case of peripheral nerve hemangioblastoma in animals.

## Abstract

Canine hemangioblastoma is a rare tumor of the central nervous system, predominantly affecting the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical signs, specific location, neuroradiological features, pathological patterns, immunophenotype, and follow-up by evaluating six cases from our archive and comparing the results with the available literature. Canine hemangioblastoma shows morphological and immunohistochemical features comparable to the human counterpart and surgery may be effective in cases of intradural-extramedullary and peripheral nerve locations of the tumor, as in humans.

Human hemangioblastoma is a benign, slow-growing, highly vascular neoplasm. The tumor most commonly arises in the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum, where it is more frequently observed in patients with von Hippel–Lindau disease. In veterinary medicine, hemangioblastoma has only been described in the central nervous system of dogs and in the skin of lambs. Our study aimed to characterize the clinical and neuropathological features of five cases of canine spinal cord hemangioblastoma and one case of sciatic nerve localization, and to compare these results with those reported in the veterinary literature. Diagnoses were achieved by neurological examination, neuroimaging, surgery or post-mortem examination, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry. All tumors were composed of numerous, haphazardly arranged capillaries lined by plump endothelium and interstitial fusiform to stellate stromal cells. Immunohistochemically, the stromal cells were strongly immunolabeled with NSE and carbonic anhydrase IX and were negative for von Willebrand factor VIII and inhibin-α. Canine hemangioblastoma exhibits morphological and immunohistochemical features comparable to the human counterpart, although the latter is mostly positive for inhibin-α. Surgery may be effective in cases of intradural-extramedullary and peripheral nerve locations, as in humans. This is the first report of peripheral nerve hemangioblastoma in animals.