Pathologic and Immunohistochemical Findings in a Feline Aortic Body Tumor

The presence of a heart-base tumor was diagnosed by ultrasound imaging in a 10-year-old, female, domestic shorthaired cat presenting with dyspnea and pleural effusion because of the presence of a modified transudate. Hematology and clinical chemistry were unremarkable. The owner elected euthanasia. At necropsy, a locally extensive, firm, multilobulated nodule surrounded the pulmonary vein. The tumor was composed of lobules of large polygonal cells separated by a fine fibrovascular stroma. Tumor cells infiltrated the myocardium, and neoplastic emboli were present, but no metastases were macroscopically detectable. Tumor cells were immunohistochemically positive for chromogranin A, for synaptophysin and, faintly, for neuron-specific enolase and negative for vimentin, cytokeratin, alpha smooth muscle actin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, thyreoglobulin, and calcitonin. Based on histologic and immunohistochemical findings, the diagnosis of chemodectoma was made.