Comparison of Cytomorphologic Criteria of Malignancy with the Composition of the Extracellular Matrix in Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors

Mastociti su stanice s velikim brojem citoplazmatskih granula koje zadrže brojne biogene amine. Mastocitom je neoplazija podrijetla mastocita i najčešći je tumor kože u pasa. Citološka pretraga predstavlja najbrži put do objektivne dijagnoze mastocitoma, no često ne daje pravi uvid u stupanj malignosti što se odražava na planiranje operacije. Cilj rada bio je pronaći dodatne kriterije za stupnjevanje malignosti mastocitoma putem komparacije sastava međustanične tvari sa citomorfološkim kriterijima malignosti. Pretraženo je 40 citoloških uzoraka iz arhive Zavoda za veterinarsku patologiju po prethodno precizno određenim kriterijima. Statističkom analizom utvrđeno je da su visoko diferencirani mastocitomi u negativnoj korelaciji sa eritrofagocitozom, a nisko diferencirani mastocitomi u pozitivnoj korelaciji sa brojem hiperplastičnih fibroblasta i sintezom proteoglikana. Nalaz hiperplastičnih fibroblasta i proteoglikana predstavlja dodatni kriterij malignosti u citološkoj dijagnostici ove neoplazme.Mast cells or mastocyts are cells with a large number of cytoplasmic granules which contain numerous biogenic amines. A mast cell tumor is a neoplasia of mastocytic origin, and it is the most frequent skin tumor in dogs. The quickest way to an objective diagnosis of a mast cell tumor is through a cytological evaluation, but it often fails to give an accurate description of the grade of malignancy, which is reflected on the surgical planning. The aim of this investigation was to find additional criteria for the grading of malignancy in mast cell tumors by comparing the composition of the extracellular matrix with cytomorphologic criteria of malignancy. Forty cytological samples from the archives of the Department of Vetrinary Pathology were examined according to precisely set criteria. With the aid of statistic analysis, it was deduced that well differentiated mast cell tumors are in a negative correlation with erythrophagocythosis, while poorly differentiated mast cell tumors are in a positive correlation with the number of hyperplastic fibroblasts and the synthesis of proteoglycans. The detection of hyperplastic fibroblasts and proteoglycans can serve as an additional criteria of malignancy in the cytological diagnosis of this neoplasm