Primary Meningeal Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma in a Domestic Shorthaired Cat: Case Report and Review of Comparative Pathology

TL;DR

A cat was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer that originated in the meninges, the first such case in cats, and the findings are compared to similar cases in other species.

Contribution

This is the first documented case of a primary meningeal extraskeletal osteosarcoma in a cat.

Findings

The tumor was located in the cranial meninges and showed both intracranial and extracranial components.

Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of extraskeletal osteosarcoma.

The tumor was not attached to bony structures but caused osteolytic destruction of the frontal bone and cribriform plate.

Abstract

This case describes the presentation and diagnosis of an extraskeletal osteosarcoma arising in the cranial meninges of a domestic shorthaired cat. Clinical signs were compatible with a space‐occupying cerebral lesion, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a multilobular mass with extracranial and intracranial components, which asserted marked forebrain mass effect and apparently originated from the frontal and parietal bones. Due to clinical deterioration and poor prognosis, the cat was euthanized and a post‐mortem examination performed. Gross lesions confirmed a solitary neoplasm, firmly attached to the dura mater, overlying and compressing the left cerebral hemisphere. The neoplasm was not adherent to bony structures of the skull, but local osteolytic destruction of the frontal bone and cribriform plate allowed its extension outside the calvarium and into the nasal sinuses. The tissue was diagnosed by histological assessment as an osteosarcoma. Primary extraskeletal osteosarcomas of the meninges are exceedingly rare in all species, and to the authors’ knowledge, have never been reported in cats. As the clinical behaviour is very different from more typically encountered neoplasms, this possibility, although rare, may be considered as a differential diagnosis for feline intracranial tumours.

A domestic shorthaired cat with neurological signs compatible with a forebrain lesion was investigated with magnetic resonance imaging, revealing a mass with intracranial and extracranial components. Due to the poor prognosis the cat was euthanized, and gross and histopathological examination identified an extraskeletal osteosarcoma with its origin in the meninges. This is the first report of a primary meningeal osteosarcoma in a cat, and the imaging and pathology findings are compared with documented cases in other species.

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