Resolution of paraneoplastic alopecia following surgical removal of a pancreatic carcinoma in a cat

A 13-year-old female neutered domestic longhaired cat was presented with a five-month history of progressive weight loss and bilaterally symmetrical a lopecia of the ventrum, limbs and perineum. The alopecic skin had a shiny a ppearance and hair in the non-alopecic areas was easily epilated. Fine need le aspirate cytology of a palpable cranial abdominal mass revealed it to be of epithelial or glandular origin. A pancreatic mass was excised by left p ancreatectomy during exploratory laparotomy, and histopathology and skin bi opsies confirmed a diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma with concurrent parane oplastic alopecia. No evidence of metastases was found on liver and lymph n ode biopsies. At re-examination 10 weeks after Surgery, the hair had fully regrown. Skin signs recurred after 18 weeks and metastatic spread of the tu mour was confirmed on postmortem examination. This case confirms that paran eoplastic alopecia associated with internal malignancies is a potentially r eversible process if the internal neoplasm is excised.