Lumbar spinal cord ganglioglioma in a 2-year-old Boxer dog

A 2-year-old Boxer dog was examined for a 2-week history of progressive, painful right-lateralized paraparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a focal ovoid mass with suspected intramedullary, or less likely, intradural location at the level of L3 vertebral body. Based on the imaging features, neoplasia, and specifically, a nephroblastoma, was suspected. Surgical excision found a difficult to excise mass with indistinct borders. The dog showed marked deterioration postoperatively and was euthanized 3 days later due to suspected myelomalacia. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the biopsy revealed that the spinal cord was replaced by a poorly organized proliferation of cells that consisted of both neuronal and glial components, embedded within an edematous neuropil. Immunohistochemistry of the lesion showed positivity for neuronal and astrocytic markers. These findings were consistent with a ganglioglioma, a rare neoplasm in dogs.