Tumor Cytology in Dogs and Cats
1.0 CE Credit Hour / Eric J. Fish, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Eric J. Fish, DVM, PhD, DACVP
Dr. Eric Fish is a veterinarian, pathologist, scientist, educator, and business leader with over a decade of experience in veterinary medicine and the life sciences. His diverse background spans roles in academia as well as the private sector, including both start-ups and corporate medical technology companies. Dr. Fish was an early adopter of digital pathology, having started a static telecytology company called CytoVetStat and co-founding Lacuna Diagnostics (which was acquired by Heska in 2021).
His professional areas of interest include hematology and bone marrow disorders, oncologic pathology, iron metabolism and biomarkers, microRNA profiling, digital pathology, and applied computer vision and deep learning AI/ML (particularly computational pathology). In addition to subject matter expertise in these areas, Dr. Fish has led research and development as an executive, principal investigator, and as an innovation manager leading cross-functional teams of engineers, scientists, product managers, and managers in finance, procurement, and operations.
Overview:
This presentation will serve as a guide for veterinary professionals to confidently diagnose and categorize common skin tumors in dogs and cats through cytology. First, you will learn how to categorize cells into inflammatory, tissue-type, or mixed, and further into subcategories based on morphology, as well as how to identify major cell types like epithelial, mesenchymal, and discrete round cells. Key to this lecture is the identification of malignancy criteria in tissue cells, including nuclear and general features, which help differentiate between normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic cells. You will see examples of specific tumor cytology images, including mast cell tumors, plasma cell tumors, and lymphomas, highlighting their unique cytological features.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the steps to determine if a cytologic sample is diagnostic, focusing on cellularity, staining quality, and cell integrity.
- Recognize the major types of cells—epithelial, mesenchymal, and round cells—present in cytologic samples, and differentiate their morphologic features.
- Identify and categorize inflammatory patterns in cytologic samples, such as purulent, granulomatous, and pyogranulomatous.
- Apply criteria of malignancy to cytologic samples to aid in assessing whether lesions are benign, hyperplastic, or malignant.
- Diagnose common cutaneous tumors by recognizing their distinctive cytologic features, including histiocytomas, mast cell tumors, and lipomas.
This course is RACE-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits hours in jurisdictions that accept RACE-approval.
