Plasmacytoma dog

In the preparation shown here a biopsy taken from the skin of a seven-year-old Golden Retriever, many plasma cells can be seen. We also see anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. The coarse chromatin in the nucleus indicates that something may be wrong. Plasma cells are part of the immune system and are usually found in lymphatic tissue and mucosal surfaces. Plasma cells are immunoglobulin-producing cells that originate from B lymphocytes and are characterized in particular by a large amount of cytoplasm, an eccentrically located nucleus and a perinuclear optically empty court.

Plasmacytoma is usually a solitary raised red hairless skin tumor. Cutaneous plasmacytoma in dogs is generally NOT a bone marrow derived tumor of plasma cells. Behavior is therefore benign and surgical resection is usually curative, as is the case here. In case it is bone marrow derived, it is malignant. These tumors from the bone marrow can be very varied. Treatment with chemotherapeutic agents or radiation is then more important than surgery.

Plasma cells belong to the immune system. They originate from white blood cells and play a role in the production of immunoglobulins to combat infections, for example.

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