An immunohistochemical study of canine spontaneous gastric polyps

BACKGROUND: Gastric polyps (GP) are characterised by luminal overgrowths projecting above the plane of the mucosal surface that can be classified as non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions. In humans, recent studies have drawn attention to the malignant potential of some of these lesions. However, gastric polyps are uncommon lesions in dogs. FINDINGS: In this study, the presence of Helicobacter spp., the cellular proliferative activity, potential phenotypic alterations, COX-2 and p53 expression in canine spontaneous gastric polyps were investigated. The expression of these molecules was also studied in normal canine gastric mucosa in order to gain further knowledge of the significance of their loss or overexpression in gastric lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The normal expression of almost all the factors evaluated, along with the reduced proliferative activity is strongly suggestive that, in dogs, spontaneous gastric polyps are not only a rare finding but also of benign nature. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/13000_2014_166