Hematuria and weight loss in a mare with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

This is a clinical report about an 11-year-old Thoroughbred mare diagnosed with a previously unreported case of pancreatic adenocarcinoma causing urogenital system dysfunction, characterized by weight loss and blood in urine.

Case Presentation

• The study focuses on an 11-year-old Thoroughbred mare that displayed symptoms of weight loss and hematuria, which is the presence of blood in urine.
• The mare’s medical history and clinical findings led to the suspicion of the existence of a tumor (neoplasia) in the urogenital system.

Medical Investigations

• The veterinarian performed an ultrasound-guided biopsy (tissue sampling procedure) on the mass around the mare’s kidney (perirenal mass). This procedure, however, did not yield any abnormal cells, indicating the absence of cancerous growth in that area.
• Further, large erratic cells were isolated from the mare’s chest (thoracic) and abdominal cavity (peritoneal) fluids. This indicated the potential presence of cancer in regions other than the initial suspected location, necessitating further investigations.

Autopsy and Histological Examination

• The mare underwent necropsy (animal autopsy), and multiple firm nodules were discovered disseminated throughout its peritoneal cavity. These nodules suggested the proliferation of a cancerous growth within the mare’s body.
• The nodules were then subject to a histological examination, a microscopic study of the tissue structure. The cells extracted from these nodules corresponded with those typically found in pancreatic exocrine adenocarcinoma, a type of pancreatic cancer affecting the gland cells that secrete digestive enzymes.

Conclusion

• This case turned out to be the first documented instance of pancreatic adenocarcinoma causing urogenital system dysfunction in a mare. Such a connection between pancreatic cancer and the urogenital system issues was previously unknown in veterinary medicine.
• Despite the initial suspicion of the mare having a tumor in the urogenital system based on its symptoms, the surprising discovery of pancreatic cancer underscores the complexity of disease diagnosis and the potential for previously unseen manifestations of familiar illnesses.