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tvpjournal.com | January/February 2016 | Today's VeTerinary PracTice common neoPlasTic skin lesions in dogs & caTs Peer reviewed 35 submission to a cytologist before alarming an owner about malignancy is recommended. Histiocytomas can be routinely diagnosed using a combination of cytologic and gross appearance. As they begin to regress, cytology will reveal lymphocytes scattered among the tumor cells. Management. Excision is generally not needed. It may be recommended if the patient is going to be under anesthesia for a different procedure, such as an ovariohysterectomy, or if the tumor is not regressing over time or begins to grow. IN SUMMARY Cytology provides a quick and minimally invasive way to evaluate cutaneous tumors in dogs and cats. It may provide a defnitive diagnosis and can, thus, help the clinician to determine whether further staging tests, such as lymph node aspiration or chest radiography, are indicated. Even more important, a cytologic diagnosis can help determine the width of the surgical margins needed for complete excision, based on the biologic behavior of the tumor type identifed. This preoperative information helps clients avoid the excess expense of follow-up treatment for a dirty margin, and patients the excess morbidity of a wide surgical excision that could have been more conservative. Thus, cytology on cutaneous masses assists the clinician in patient assessment, may decrease discomfort for the pet, and may actually make the treatment less expensive for the client, with better outcomes for all. FNA = fne-needle aspiration; MCT = mast cell tumor; SCC = squamous cell carcinoma References 1. Ghisleni G, Roccabianca P, Ceruti R, et al. Correlation between fne- needle aspiration cytology and histopathology in the evaluation of cutaneous and subcutaneous masses from dogs and cats. Vet Clin Path 2006; 35(1):24-30. 2. Pratschke KM, Atherton MJ, Sillito JA, Lamm CG. Evaluation of a modifed proportional margins approach for surgical resection of mast cell tumors in dogs: 40 cases (2008-2012). JAVMA 2013; 243(10):1436-1441. 3. Belluco S, Brisebard E, Watrelot D, et al. Digital squamous cell carcinoma in dogs: Epidemiological, histological, and immunohistochemical study. Vet Path 2013; 50(6):1078-1082. 4. Miller PE, Dubielzig RR. Ocular tumors. Small Animal Clinical Oncology, 5th ed. St Louis: Elsevier Saunders, 2013, pp 598-599. 5. Gross TL, Ihrke PJ, Walder EJ, Affolter VK. Epidermal tumors. Skin Diseases of the Dog and Cat: Clinical and Histopathologic Diagnosis , 2nd ed. Ames, IA: Blackwell Science Ltd, 2005, pp 589-596. 6. Gross TL, Ihrke PJ, Walder EJ, Affolter VK. Follicular tumors. Skin Diseases of the Dog and Cat: Clinical and Histopathologic Diagnosis, 2nd ed. Ames, IA: Blackwell Science Ltd, 2005, pp 616-619. 7. Bohn AA, Wills T, Caplazi P. Basal cell tumor or cutaneous basilar epithelial neoplasm? Rethinking the cytologic diagnosis of basal cell tumors. Vet Clin Path 2006; 35(4):449-453. 8. Mays MC. Basaloid epithelial tumors of dogs and cats. Vet Clin Path 2010; 39(2):133; author reply 133-134. COMMON NEOPLASTIC SKIN LESIONS tvpjournal.com | January/February 2016