PhD in Veterinary Sciences for Animal Health and Food Safety

Contacts

Supervisor

Phd thesis

FLOW CYTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CANINE MAST CELL TUMOR: DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS

Mast cell tumors (MCTs) are the most frequent skin neoplasms in dogs. They first metastasize to lymph nodes (LNs), and can later involve the spleen, liver, bone marrow, and peripheral blood. Early and accurate detection of metastasis is critical for prognosis and treatment planning. My studies evaluate flow cytometry (FC) as a diagnostic and prognostic tool.

A first study validates a FC panel for detecting mast cells in peripheral blood, bone marrow, and LN aspirates, demonstrating high precision and accuracy.

Another study compares FC with cytology and histopathology for identifying metastatic LNs, showing FC could distinguish metastatic (HN2-HN3) from non-metastatic (HN0-HN1) nodes using a 0.3% mast cell threshold, achieving 84.3% accuracy. When combined with cytology, accuracy rose to 92.2%. A FC cutoff of 1.1% is the best to detect HN3 LNs, with a specificity of 98% and sensitivity of 84.2%; an infiltration >4% allows to reach a specificity of 100% for HN3 cases.

A third study assesses the prognostic significance of mast cell percentages in sentinel LNs. Patients with nodal mast cells levels exceeding 1.1% and 4% are respectively 10 and 40 times more likely to experience tumor progression. Therefore, dividing dogs in high-risk (>4%), intermediate-risk (1.1%-4%), and low-risk (<1.1%) groups for disease progression, more tailored treatment and monitoring can be applied, thus improving outcome.

These results position FC as a minimally invasive, accurate method for diagnosing, staging, and prognosticating canine MCTs. Incorporating FC into clinical workflows could enhance early detection, guide individualized treatment, and improve outcome prediction for dogs with MCTs.

Research activities

Pubblications:

1. Basano I, Romolo A, Iamone G, Memoli G, Riccio B, Lavoie JP, Miniscalco B, Bullone M. Giant Multinucleated Cells Are Associated with Mastocytic Inflammatory Signature Equine Asthma. Animals (Basel). 2022 Apr 20;12(9):1070. doi: 10.3390/ani12091070. PMID: 35565497; PMCID: PMC9103648.
2. Wu B, Lejeune A, Affolter VK, Iamone G, Riondato F, Kol A. Development of a flow cytometric panel to assess prognostic biomarkers in fine needle aspirates of canine cutaneous or subcutaneous mast cell tumors. Front Vet Sci. 2023 Nov 21;10:1279881. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1279881. PMID: 38076567; PMCID: PMC10704158.
3. Ferrini S, Cagnotti G, Ala U, Avilii E, Bellino C, Biasibetti E, Borriello G, Corona C, Di Muro G, Iamone G, Iulini B, Pezzolato M, Bozzetta E, D'Angelo A. Cerebrospinal fluid L-lactate as a diagnostic marker for infectious-inflammatory disorders in the central nervous system of cattle. Front Vet Sci. 2024 Oct 9;11:1466920. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1466920. PMID: 39444739; PMCID: PMC11496040.
4. Iamone G, Chalfon C, Marconato L, Miniscalco B, Sabattini S, Agnoli C, Martano M, Spindler KP, Morello E, Iussich S, Ferraris EI, Riondato F. Flow Cytometry for the Detection and Quantification of Mast Cells in Lymph Nodes: A Prospective Study in 64 Dogs With Mast Cell Tumour. Vet Comp Oncol. 2025 Mar;23(1):1-9. doi: 10.1111/vco.13019. Epub 2024 Oct 17. PMID: 39420569.
5. Di Muro G, Tessarolo C, Cagnotti G, Favole A, Ferrini S, Ala U, Bellino C, Borriello G, Gallo M, Iamone G, Iulini B, Pezzolato M, Casalone C, Caramelli M, Capucci L, Cavadini P, Corona C, D'Angelo A. Neurofilament light chain (Nf-L) in cerebrospinal fluid and serum as a potential biomarker in the differential diagnosis of neurological diseases in cattle. Vet Res. 2025 Jan 10;56(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s13567-024-01441-4. PMID: 39794836; PMCID: PMC11724550.

Oral presentations:

• Iamone G., Chalfon C., Marconato L., Sabbatini S., Martano M., Miniscalco B., MorelloE., Iussich S., Ferraris E.I., Riondato F."Flow Cytometry Application in the Detection of Nodal Metastasis in Dogs with Mast Cell Tumour" In: joint congress ECVP/ESVP/ECVCP/ESVCP, 1^st September 2023, Lisbon, Portugal

• Iamone G., Chalfon C., Marconato L., Sabbatini S., Martano M., Miniscalco B., MorelloE., Riondato F. "Flow Cytometry and Cytology in the Detection of Nodal Metastasis in Dogs with Mast Cell Tumour"  In: Game of Research 2^nd Edition, 16^th December 2022, Grugliasco (TO), Italy

Period abroad:

01/03/2024 - 30/06/2024

UC Davis (California, USA) School of Veterinary Medicine; Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Tutor: Professor Amir Kol (DVM, PhD, ACVP)