Granular Cell Tumor in a Lumbar Spinal Nerve of a Dog

Abstract

A 2-year-old Great Dane dog with a 2.5-week history of progressive paraparesis was presented to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Neurologic examination revealed nonambulatory paraparesis with reduced to absent withdrawal hind-limb reflexes and lumbar pain. Magnetic resonance imaging and gross pathology confirmed a larger regional lumbar mass and a second smaller extradural mass within the spinal canal. The left lumbar mass was associated with extensive hemorrhage; dissection showed a dark-red, soft, well-circumscribed mass measuring 2 cm x 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm within the left fourth lumbar spinal nerve. Histopathological evaluation with immunohistochemistry revealed sheets of round to polygonal cells with diffuse granular cytoplasm demonstrating diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff reactivity and positive immunoexpression of S100 and neuron-specific enolase. The smaller extradural mass within the spinal canal exhibited similar morphology. Based on gross, histological, and immunohistochemical evidence, the masses were diagnosed as granular cell tumor.