A STUDY OF HISTOPATHOLOGICAL VARIANTS OF SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA IN DOGS

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs)are malignant epithelial tumors arising from keratinocytes, exhibiting varying degrees of differentiation.They rank among the most prevalent cutaneous neoplasms in dogs.This study documents nine cases of SCC diagnosed in dogs at the Veterinary Clinical Complex, DUVASU Mathura, between 2023 and 2024.Grossly, the tumors presented as nodular or cauliflower-like masses, frequently ulcerated.Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) revealed highly pleomorphic cells with features including anisocytosis, karyomegaly, elevated nucleus-to-cytoplasmic ratio, binucleation, multinucleation, hyperchromasia and cytoplasmic basophilia.Histopathological examination classified the tumors into three distinct differentiation patterns: welldifferentiated, moderately differentiated, and poorly differentiated SCC.The degree of histopathological differentiation serves as a critical prognostic indicator for these malignancies.Aberrant E-cadherin expression was consistently observed across all three histological grades of the tumor.