UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Clinical presentation varies with tumour location and metastatic spread. Cutaneous lesions typically appear as vascular nodular or diffuse swellings prone to haemorrhage, whereas visceral tumours often present with nonspecific signs such as anaemia, weight loss and organ dysfunction, making diagnosis difficult. The present study aims to describe the cytopathological and histopathological characteristics of malignant penile hemangiosarcoma in bulls of native breed, thereby contributing to the limited literature on this rare neoplasm in bovines and emphasising the importance of early diagnostic approaches in such atypical presentations. Two bulls affected with cutaneous hemangiosarcoma were presented to Veterinary Clinical Complex, VCRI, Orathanadu. The Umbalacherry cross bred and non-descript bulls of 14 years and 8 years old, respectively were presented with diffuse hard swelling originating from cranial region of the scrotum till preputial orifice, for past 8 months and 1 year of history, respectively. The swelling had dimensions of approximately 8 × 9 × 6 cm and encircled the glans penis and body of the penis, causing phimosis and paraphimosis signs. The animals were reported to have dysuria due to compression of the urethra by the large tumoral mass.  Both cases were subjected to ultrasonography of the preputial swelling. The ultrasonographic findings revealed multiple anechoic cystic cavities and hyperechoic parenchymal masses in the preputial swelling.  Haematological examination revealed a leukocytosis with total WBC count elevated to 19.6 × 10³ cells/µL. Samples were collected by Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), in which cytological findings revealed moderate cellularity, blood cells, round, polygonal, or slightly spindle-shaped pleomorphic epithelioid tumour cells arranged as pseudopapillary isolated cells with oval to elongated, vesicular nuclei and mitotic figures. Histopathological examination revealed vascular spaces containing red blood cells lined by elongated, plump neoplastic endothelial cells with oval to elongated vesicular nuclei and prominent nucleoli. Based on the above findings, the tumour was diagnosed as cutaneous hemangiosarcoma in bulls of native breeds. They appear frequently in the ventro-abdominal, preputial, and pelvic limb regions in animals. The cutaneous form of penile hemangiosarcoma in the bovine is a rare condition, and its prognosis is very poor. As a challenging neoplasm in bulls, accurate earlier diagnosis is required using USG imaging, cytological and histopathological profiling to determine the invasiveness of the cancer.