Agricultural Science Digest

  • Chief EditorArvind kumar

  • Print ISSN 0253-150X

  • Online ISSN 0976-0547

  • NAAS Rating 5.52

  • SJR 0.156

Frequency :
Bi-monthly (February, April, June, August, October and December)
Indexing Services :
BIOSIS Preview, Biological Abstracts, Elsevier (Scopus and Embase), AGRICOLA, Google Scholar, CrossRef, CAB Abstracting Journals, Chemical Abstracts, Indian Science Abstracts, EBSCO Indexing Services, Index Copernicus
Agricultural Science Digest, volume 39 issue 4 (december 2019) : 353-356

Case of Vaccine-Associated Fibrosarcoma (VAS), Related to Aluminium, in a Cat

Fulya Altinok-Yipel, Nuri Altug, Sevda Inan
1Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tekirdað Namýk Kemal Univ., 59030, Tekirdað, Turkey.
Cite article:- Altinok-Yipel Fulya, Altug Nuri, Inan Sevda (2019). Case of Vaccine-Associated Fibrosarcoma (VAS), Related to Aluminium, in a Cat. Agricultural Science Digest. 39(4): 353-356. doi: 10.18805/ag.D-174.
An 11-year-old, male, crossbreed cat was presented for a subcutaneous mass affecting the prescapular region extending to the thoracic vertebrae. The diagnosis of fibrosarcoma was made according to the histopathological examination of the biopsy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) was used to determine the presence of aluminium in the tumor tissue. The owner did not accept further treatment, so the cat died 1 month after diagnosis. This is the first case report from Turkey which diagnoses verified by SEM and has shown that aluminium-containing vaccines may be associated with fibrosarcoma formation. Awareness of the side effects of adjuvants is still not enough level. Determining the frequency of VAS in fibrosarcoma cases will contribute to the increase of life span/survival by protective measures. The aim of this case report is to draw attention to the adjuvant contents of the vaccines and to scrutinize the relationship between vaccine applications and tumor development. 
  1. Cronin, K., Page, R.L., Spodnick, G., Dodge, R., Hardie, E.N., Price, G.S., Ruslander, D.,Thrall, D.E.(1998). Radiation therapy and surgery for fibrosarcoma in 33 cats. Journal Veterinary Radiology and Ultrasound., 39: 51–56.
  2. Day, M.J., Schoon, H.A., Magnol, J.P., Saik, J., Devauchelle, P.,Truyen, U., Gruffdd-Jones, T.J., Cozette, V., Jas, D., Poulet, M., Pollmeier, M., Thibault, J.C. (2007). A kinetic study of histopathological changes in the subcutis of cats injected with non-adjuvanted and adjuvanted multi-component vaccines. Vaccine., 25: 4073-4084.
  3. Doddy, F.D., Glickman, L.T., Glickman, N.W., Janovitz, E.B. (1996). Feline fibrosarcomas at vaccination sites and non-vaccination sites. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 114: 165–174.
  4. Hartmann, K., Day, M.J., Thiry, E., Lloret, A., Frymus, T., Addie, D., Boucraut-Baralon, C., Egberink, H., Gruffydd-Jones, T., Horzinek, M.C., Hosie, M.J., Lutz, H., Marsilio, F., Pennisi, M.G., Radford, A.D., Truyen, U., Mostl, K. (2015). Feline injection-site sarcoma: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery,17: 606-613.
  5. Hendrick, M.J. (1999). Feline vaccineassociated sarcomas. Cancer Investigation, 17: 273-277.
  6. Hendrick, M.J., Shofer, F.S., Goldschmidt, M.H., Haviland, J.C., Schelling, S.H., Engler, S.J., Gliatto, J.M. (1994). Comparison of fibrosarcomas that developed at vaccination sites and at nonvaccination sites in cats: 239 cases (1991–1992). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 205: 1425–1429.
  7. Hendrick, M.J.,Goldschmidt, M.H., Shofer, F., Wang, Y.Y., Somlyo, A.P. (1992). Postvaccinal sarcomas in the cat: epidemiology and electron probe microanalytical identification of aluminium. Cancer Research, 52: 5391–5394.
  8. Hendricks, C.G., Levy, J.K., Tucker, S.J., Olmstead, S.M., Crawford, P.C., Dubovi, E.J., Hanlon, C.A. (2014). Tail vaccination in cats: a pilot study. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 16: 275-280.
  9. Hershey, A.E., Sorenmo, K.U., Hendrick, M.J., Shofer, F.S., Vail, D.M. (2000). Prognosis for presumed feline vaccine-    associated sarcoma after excision: 61 cases (1986-1996). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 216: 58–61. 
  10. Hogenesch, H. (2012). Mechanism of immunopotentiation and safety of aluminium adjuvants. Frontiers in Immunology, 3: 406. 
  11. Kass, P.H., Spangler, W.L., Hendrick, M.J., Mcgill, L.D., Esplin, D.G., Lester, S., Slater, M., Meyer, E.K., Boucher, F., Peters, E.M., Gobar, G.G., Htoo, T., Decile, K. (2003). Multicenter case-control study of risk factors associated with development of vaccine-associated sarcomas in cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 223: 1283–1292.
  12. Madewell, B.R., Griffey, S.M., Mcentee, M.C., Leppert, V.J., Munn, R.J. (2001). Feline vaccineassociated fibrosarcoma: an ultrastructural study of 20 tumors (1996–1999). Veterinary Pathology, 38: 196–202.
  13. Martano, M., Morello, E., Buracco, P. (2011). Feline injection site sarcoma: past, present and future perspectives. Veterinary Journal, 188: 136-141.
  14. Moulton, J.E. (1990). Tumors in Domestic Animals. 3th ed., University of California Press.
  15. Saba, C.F. (2017). Vaccine-associated feline sarcoma: current perspectives. Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports, 8: 13–20.
  16. Seguin, B. (2002). Feline injection site sarcomas. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 32: 983- 995. 

Editorial Board

View all (0)