26/02/2023
Feline ‘lung–digit syndrome’ an unusual pattern of metastasis
that is seen with various types of primary lung tumours, particularly
bronchial and bronchioalveolar adenocarcinoma.
Nail and nail bed disorders are commonly seen in practice, Bacterial paronychia or something more sinister?
Primary pulmonary neoplasia is not common in cats, but lesions tend to be malignant and carry a poor prognosis.
✜ Feline lung–digit syndrome describes a clinical syndrome of metastasis of primary
pulmonary neoplasia to one or more digits. Up to 1 in 5 cases of feline digital neoplasia may represent metastatic disease.
✜ Clinical signs of lung–digit syndrome are often lameness, digital swelling, purulent
nail bed discharge and dysplasia or fixed exsheathment of the nail.
✜ Multiple digits, often on multiple limbs, are affected.
✜ Thoracic radiographs are a vital diagnostic tool in any cat in which there is an
index of clinical suspicion of lung–digit syndrome.
✜ An important differential diagnosis is pyogranulomatous inflammation due to atypical pathogens, including fungi, Nocardia species and mycobacteria.
No effective treatment has been demonstrated for feline metastatic digital carcinoma; amputation has not been shown to be palliative, as further metastases rapidly develop.
H i s t o p a t h o l o g i c a l D i a g n o s e s
Diagnoses from laboratory submissions of amputated feline digits
✜ Inflammation (27%)
✜ Squamous cell carcinoma (17%)
✜ Fibrosarcoma (14%)
✜ Adenocarcinoma* (15%)
✜ Osteosarcoma (7%)
✜ Haemangiosarcoma (6%)
✜ Mast cell tumour (5%)
✜ Haemangioma (2%)
✜ Giant cell tumour of bone (2%)
✜ Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (2%)
✜ Basal cell tumour (1%)
✜ Undifferentiated sarcoma (1%)
*Suspected to be metastases of a primary pulmonary neoplasm
