Histeocytosis....the good, bad and ugly??

[MommasBoys]

Dec 2016 we took our youngest pup Boss to the vet because we noticed small "bumps" on his prepuce. At first it was treated as an infected hairs, or a fungal infection. He is still in tact and does not roam. He has never been alone with a female dog, period. My other male is neutered. They checked for STD's and that was negative. After a round of antibiotics and fungal cream with no results we were referred to dermatology. Needle aspirate came back as "nothing to be worried about." In the meantime he started to develop "bumps" under the skin all over his back as well as still on his prepuce. The dermatologist did a biopsy of two spots on his back and 1 on the prepuce. They came back as histeocytosis. He was started on doxy, and niacinamide 500mg BID. We also are giving him benadryl twice a day. The "bumps" on his back have gone away however his prepuce is still covered. He has also developed 2 "bumps" one under each eye. The spots or bumps are not ulcerated or oozing. They are just abnormal hairless growths. The dermatologist has told me numerous times, "its not cancer yet" but im still not ok with this. I have done a lot of research and there are different levels of histeocytosis and Boss' seems to be at the bottom, which is good. I am just really concerned that these new bumps are coming under his eyes.

My older dog Cooper had a single histeocytoma on his muzzle last year and after throwing multiple medications at it, the only thing that seemed to help was benadryl. That resolved after a month long dose of benadryl and knock on wood has not returned.

I have contacted my breeder, whom both of my boys are from and she has not had any of her dogs have this diagnosis. Was hoping some other folks have dealt with this before and can give us some insight as to whats to come, or waht we should do? UGH!!! I hate the unknown and according to the dermatologist this is a big unknown in the vet world

Thanks everyone....

[smartrock]

Interesting, I thought many histiocytomas go away without treatment but I haven't seen a dog with more than a single histocytoma at a time. Sorry Boss is having so many issues.

[Meeps83]

I might get a second opinion from another dermatologist if I were you.....The response wouldn't satisfy me either.


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[Annette47]

Interesting, I thought many histiocytomas go away without treatment but I haven't seen a dog with more than a single histocytoma at a time. Sorry Boss is having so many issues.

Exactly. They usually occur one at a time (most dogs only ever get one) and go away in a few weeks without treatment. I would get a second opinion as this doesn’t sound like a normal histiocytoma to me. Scully had one as an older dog (they are more common in young dogs) and since we didn’t know what it was (suspected mast cell tumor) we did have it removed and biopsied, so I don’t know how long it would take for hers to have gone away on it’s own, but I read 4-6 weeks is typical.

[Shelley]

Histiocytoma and Histiocytosis are vastly different. Cutaneous Histiocytosis manifests in multiple lesions, not just one, and are inflammatory/immune diseases. You may want to consult UC Davis and see if they have a protocol or treatment plan in place, since they have good information on it.

I am sorry your dog has this, it must be really frustrating!

UC Davis article explains it well.
Feline Progressive Histiocytosis

[JenC]

I wonder if the first bump that had to be treated with benedryl was the precursor to these other ones. Agreed that histiocytomas typically resolve on their own unless they are in a spot to get chewed or bothered, and then some vets just remove them. We've had 2 that have disappeared on their own. Different dogs, different times in their lives.