Ultrasonographic aspects of feline cholangiocarcinoma: case report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26605/medvet-v19n4-7694Keywords:
hepatobiliary ultrasound, gallbladder, neoplasia, biliary obstructionAbstract
In domestic cats, biliary tract neoplasms are more common than hepatocellular tumors, with an unfavorable prognosis for malignant forms. Ultrasonography is usually the first imaging modality requested in the diagnosis of hepatobiliary disorders in cats due to its high sensitivity for such conditions, as well as factors such as easy access to the examination relatively low cost. This report highlights the ultrasonographic findings of a cat diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a malignant tumor originating from the biliary epithelium and locally invasive. The patient was an 8-year-old, 3.05kg, male, mixed-breed cat presenting with weight loss, abdominal pain, vomiting, and jaundice. Ultrasonographic examination suggested extrahepatic biliary obstruction, and the patient underwent cholecystectomy, which was followed by refractory hypotension and euthanasia. Histopathology confirmed compatibility with cholangiocarcinoma. It was concluded that ultrasonography was essential for clinical decision-making and that the described findings may help establish cholangiocarcinoma as a differential diagnosis for hepatobiliary disorders.Downloads
References
Adler, R.; Wilson, D.W.; Biliary cystadenomas in cats. Veterinary Pathology, 32: 415-418, 1995.
Andrade, R.L.F.S. et al. Platynosomum fastosum-induced cholangiocarcinomas in cats. Veterinary Parasitology, 190(1-2): 277-280, 2012.
Bargellini, P. et al. Contrast?enhanced ultrasound complements two?dimensional ultrasonography in diagnosing gallbladder diseases in dogs. Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound, 59(3): 345-356, 2018.
Braga, R.R. et al. Prevalence of Platynosomum fastosum infection in free roaming cats in northeastern Brazil: fluke burden and grading of lesions. Veterinary Parasitology, 227: 20-25,2016.
Callahan, C.J.E. et al. Feline cholangitis: a necropsy study of 44 cats (1986–2008). Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 13: 570–576, 2011.
Coelen, R.J. et al. Diagnostic accuracy of staging laparoscopy for detecting metastasized or locally advanced perihilar cholangiocarcinoma: A systematic review and meta analysis. Surgery Endoscopy, 30: 4163 4173, 2016.
Dietrich, C.F. et al. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnostic algorithm of hepatocellular and cholangiocellular carcinoma, comments on the AASLD guidelines. Ultraschall in der Medizin, 33: S57–S66, 2012.
Gaillot, H.A.; Penninck, D.G.; Webster, C.R.L.; Crawford, S. Ultrasonographic features of extrahepatic biliary obstruction in 30 cats. Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound, 48(5): 439-447, 2007.
Galassi, M. et al. Patterns of appearance and risk of misdiagnosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in cirrhosis at contrast enhanced ultrasound. Liver International, 33: 771–779, 2013.
Granat, F. et al. Feline reference intervals for the Sysmex XT-2000iV and the ProCyte DX haematology analysers in EDTA and CTAD blood specimens. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 16: 473–482, 2014.
Griffin, S. Feline abdominal ultrasonography: what’s normal? What’s abnormal? The biliary tree. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 21(5): 429-441, 2019.
Groot, K.B.; Jarnagin, W.R. Surgery for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. British Journal of Surgery,105: 771 2, 2018.
Hann, L.E. et al. Malignant hepatic hilar tumors: can ultrasound be used as an alternative to angiography with CT arterial portography for determination of resectability. Journal Ultrasound Medicine, l5: 37-45, 1996.
Hoffmann, K. et al. Impact of portal vein resection on oncologic long term outcome in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Surgery, 158: 252 1260, 2015.
de Brito Jardim, M.P. et al. Cholangiocarcinoma in young cats. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 47: 394-400, 2019.
Kaneko, J.J.; Harvey, J.W.; Bruss, M.L. Appendix IX Blood analyte reference values in small and some laboratory animals, In:____. Clinical Biochemistry of Domestic Animals. Burlington: Elsevier, 2008. p.889-895.
Khan, S.A.; Tavolari, S.; Brandi, G. Cholangiocarcinoma: Epidemiology and risk factors. Liver International, 39(Suppl. 1): 19–31, 2019.
Kim, H.J. et al. Evaluation of the longitudinal tumor extent of bile duct cancer: Value of adding gadolinium enhanced dynamic imaging to unenhanced images and magnetic resonance cholangiography. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 31: 469 474, 2007.
Kim, M.J. et al. Biliary dilatation: Differentiation of benign from malignant causes value of adding conventional MR imaging to MR cholangiopancreatography. Radiology, 214: 173 181, 2000.
Lau, S.K. et al. Comparative immunohistochemical profile of hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and metastatic adenocarcinoma. Human pathology, 33(12): 1175-1181, 2002.
Lawrence, H.J.; Erb, H.N.; Harvey, H.J. Non-lymphomatous hepatobiliary masses in cats: 41 cases (1972-1991). Veterinary Surgery, 23: 365-368, 1994.
Leveille, R.; Biller, D.S.; Shiroma, J.T. Sonographic evaluation of the common bile duct in cats. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 10: 296–299, 1996.
Liptak, J.M.; Dernell, W.S.; Withrow, A.S. Liver tumors in cats and dogs. The Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian, 26: 50-56, 2004.
Marolf, A.J. et al. Ultrasonographic findings of feline cholangitis. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 48: 36–42, 2012.
Marolf, A.J. Diagnostic imaging of the hepatobiliary system: an update. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 47: 555-568, 2017.
Mayhew, P.D. et al. Pathogenesis and outcome of extrahepatic biliary obstruction in cats. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 43: 247–253, 2002.
Newell, S.M. et al. Correlations between ultrasonographic findings and specific hepatic diseases in cats: 72 cases (1985–1997). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 213: 94–98, 1998.
Post, G.; Patnaik, A.K.; Nonhematopoietic hepatic neoplasm in cats: 21 cases (1983-1988). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 201: 1080-1082, 1992.
Rykkje, A. at al. Hand-Held Ultrasound Devices Compared with High-End Ultrasound Systems: a systematic review. Diagnostics, 9(2): 61, 2019.
Santos, J.A. et al. Colangiocarcinomas em gatos com parasitismo de ductos biliares por Platynosomum fastosum. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira, 1: 31–36, 1981.
Sripa, B. et al. Histological analysis of gallbladder diseases in relation to opisthorchiasis in endemic areas of Thailand. Acta Tropica, 88: 224–239, 2003.
Tavolari, S.; Brandi, G. Mutational Landscape of Cholangiocarcinoma According to Different Etiologies: a review. Cells, 12(9): 1216, 2023.
Xin, Y. et al. Hilar cholangiocarcinoma: Value of high-resolution enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for preoperative evaluation. Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics, 16(7): 1634-1640, 2020.
Zhou, Q. et al. Modification and establishment of CT criteria in preoperative assessment of portal venous invasion by hilar cholangiocarcinoma. HPB, 20(12): 1163 1171, 2018.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Gabriel Sousa Santos, Laís Elena Oliveira Pimenta, Mariana Beatriz Rocha Sobrinho, Maria Eduarda Rafainni de Oliveira Cunha, Tainá Rodrigues Roque, Vanessa Martins Fayad Milken
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
A Revista de Medicina Veterinária permite que o autor retenha os direitos de publicação sem restrições, utilizando para tal a licença Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
De acordo com os termos seguintes:
Atribuição — Você deve dar o crédito apropriado, prover um link para a licença e indicar se mudanças foram feitas. Você deve fazê-lo em qualquer circunstância razoável, mas de nenhuma maneira que sugira que o licenciante apoia você ou o seu uso.
NãoComercial — Você não pode usar o material para fins comerciais.
CompartilhaIgual — Se você remixar, transformar, ou criar a partir do material, tem de distribuir as suas contribuições sob a mesma licença que o original.
Sem restrições adicionais — Você não pode aplicar termos jurídicos ou medidas de caráter tecnológico que restrinjam legalmente outros de fazerem algo que a licença permita.
