ABSTRACT
Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has
been widely used in the diagnosis of lesions from various origins, especially
neoplastic. The technique is simple, fast, safe, minimally invasive and
inexpensive, which allows through the evaluation of cell morphology to
establish prognosis, delineate surgical margins, monitor lesion growth,
validate indication euthanasia during surgery and monitor chemotherapy
protocols. Diagnosis of canine transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) can be
accomplished with ease and precision, even to be rated, according to the degree
of aggressiveness. The study objective was to demonstrate the effectiveness of
the examination in the diagnosis of TVT plasmacytoid type. An eight-month dog
presented to the veterinary hospital (HV), faculty of veterinary medicine and
animal science, FMVZ, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista with clinical suspicion of
cutaneous lymphoma. By presenting multiple nodular lesions, FNAC was performed
to cytological diagnosis. The tissue showed cells consistent with TVT. The
animal was treated, and a total cure was achieved. According to the literature,
TVT mainly affects external genitalia of sexually active animals and its
transmission is more frequent during intercourse. In addition, animals sexually
immature and without contact to the street dogs, hardly have injuries by TVT.
In this case, verrucous and ulcerated lesions on the vulva of its mother during
pregnancy and childbirth infected the animal. Diffuse and predominant dorsal
injuries occurred due to both exfoliation of breast tumor during delivery and
immunosuppression of pup at birth, thus favoring an atypical transmission.