Canine Nervous System Tumors—Honorary Special Issue Commemorating the Work of Veterinary Neuropathologist Prof. Robert J. Higgins

Dear Colleagues,

During last Christmas days Dr. Robert Higgins, one of the most eminent veterinary neuropathologists since the seventies of last century, passed away. He has been a passionate teacher inspiring several students and residents to specialize in veterinary neuropathology. Moreover, in addition to his hundreds of papers on veterinary neuropathology, his special interest in Neuro-oncology has produced two of the fundamental and most referred books on these fields.

As his attached disciples, we wanted to pay tribute to Dr. Higgins by devoting our special volume of “Canine nervous system tumors” to him as homage, recognition and gratitude to his figure and work.

Nervous system tumors are rather frequent in dogs, accounting for 2–4.5% of tumors diagnosed at necropsy. Central nervous system tumors are mainly represented by meningiomas and gliomas, resulting in dramatic clinical signs, including seizures and behavioral changes. Additionally, for the spinal and cranial peripheral nerve sheath of dogs, tumors represent the most common affection, often calling for invasive/mutilating surgical approaches. Despite the relatively high frequency of tumors in the nervous system of dogs, and the consistent novel results obtained in recent years, morphological diagnosis, biological behavior, classification and genetic assessment still remain insufficient to support advanced prognostic and therapeutic approaches able to consistently improve the life quality of canine patients. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the most current and advanced knowledge researchers are producing on canine nervous system tumors, addressing pathologic mechanisms, morphological and genetic diagnosis, and prognostic and therapeutic novel managements. 
Original research articles and reviews are welcomed, especially focusing on (but not limited to):
- epidemiology;
- imaging;
- neuropathology: morphology; immunohistochemistry; prognostic markers; immuno-oncology; 
- genetic;
- prognosis and biological behavior;
- advanced therapy and treatment response.

Papers in the form of case reports are also accepted, especially ones that cover new forms and variants.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Sara Belluco
Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Mandara
Prof. Dr. Martí Pumarola
Guest Editors

IN MEMORIAM

Robert J. Higgins
1941–2021

(The picture was taken in November, 2017)

Robert (Bob) J. Higgins was born on 21 September 1941 in Perth, Western Australia, and died on 27 December 2021 in Davis, California, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Childhood
Bob was born in Perth, Western Australia. The family moved to Toowoomba Queensland where Bob’s father worked for Southern Cross Machinery, an Australian company that manufactured windmills and irrigation equipment. An iconic feature of the Australian outback landscape, the Southern Cross windmill guaranteed access to reliable and consistent sources of underground water. Bob told of formative times when, as an adolescent on school holidays, he worked on rural properties operated by his father’s company, where he was called “the boss’s kid” and was given the most challenging (i.e., “dirtiest”) jobs.

When Bob was just twelve, he went to The Southport School, (a Church of England boarding school) which he disliked vehemently, and recalled the bullying he received being young for his class and a small kid. However, he did participate in the sport that was offered, and excelled at cricket and rugby.

Bob had a younger brother Richard, and a younger sister Suzanne, for whom he maintained a great affection, and with whom he exchanged long letters all his life. Bob’s love of the ocean and fishing was passed on from his father, whom he idolized. Bob was devastated when his father died at just 46 years of age. This loss, combined with his boarding school experience away from his family, had a profound and lifelong effect upon him.

Veterinary science
After graduating from high school, Bob was offered entrance into medicine, engineering, and veterinary science, at the University of Queensland. A full scholarship to study veterinary science was offered by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in Queensland. This scholarship paid for his university fees and college accommodation. He accepted the scholarship, but sometimes said that he regretted not having chosen medicine instead. However, the scholarship meant that he was then “bonded” to work for the DPI for five years following graduation.

Early years as a veterinarian
After graduating with a BVSc degree in 1963, the DPI sent Bob to remote Queensland towns (including places as remote as Thargomindah) as the local vet. He was conflicted. On one hand, he learned to fly and was able to discover the outback, about which he was passionate. On the other hand, he was frustrated by the sort of work (e.g., bovine tuberculosis testing) that outback vets in remote areas were required to do in those times.

In 1967, during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom, Bob was one of two veterinarians sent to the UK by the DPI. Overseeing the destruction of numerous animals on numerous farms, many of which had operated and bred prize animals for hundreds of years, and the tragedy of the loss experienced by the farmers, had a devastating effect upon Bob.

Bob returned to Perth, but was not satisfied working in a small animal veterinary practice. He was persuaded by a colleague who had studied in the United States to travel there to complete a Master’s degree. The only university that replied to his inquiry was Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama.

Auburn University
Having no idea about Alabama, or even where it was, courageously or foolhardily, Bob accepted the offer to study at Auburn University. He completed his residency and Master’s degree in anatomic pathology, and it was there he met his lifelong and best friend, Marc Vandevelde.

These years are best summed up in Marc’s words:

“The Australian accent of this good-looking young man, with many ‘colorful’ words, was sometimes difficult to understand, but many of us were fascinated by Bob’s intense personality, and he was a much-liked member of the ‘ex-pat community’. Bob could be very ‘moody’ at times, but usually was outgoing with a very strong sense of humor. He could deliver quick sardonic comments on almost any subject, often regardless of the consequences. He loved an argument, but emotions could quickly spill over. The weak-hearted sometimes found it difficult to get along with Bob, but very few did not eventually succumb to his charm. Perhaps because of his Australian heritage, Bob was what you might call a ‘macho man’ (although deep down prone to sentimentality), and he acted accordingly, but always with a wink, saying things like: ‘when men were still men, and women were thankful for it!’ Bob had a razor-sharp mind, and always was very quick to grasp even the most complex matters. He developed a special interest in the pathology of neurological diseases, and became a well-versed neuropathologist.”

The Ohio State University
In 1973, Bob graduated with a Master’s degree from Auburn University in Alabama, and moved to The Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus, Ohio, to complete a PhD degree in the Department of Pathology.

At OSU, Bob completed research on the pathogenesis of canine distemper encephalitis, using the electron microscope, which was in those days an important technique in pathology. He made several interesting observations, the most important of which was the first evidence of viral-induced segmental demyelination in the central nervous system.

In 1980, Bob graduated with a PhD degree from OSU. During his years in Ohio, Bob married Sharon Stevenson, a veterinarian who had completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at OSU.

Bob then spent a year with Marc Vandevelde at the Institute of Comparative Neurology, University of Bern, Switzerland, continuing to work on canine distemper, skiing in the mountains (one of his favored activities), and taking French cooking lessons. This was followed by a year in Boston while Sharon completed an orthopedic fellowship.

University of California, Davis
In 1982, Bob joined the Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, at UC Davis in California.

Bob’s time at UC Davis is summed up in the words of Marc Vandevelde:

“Bob accepted a faculty position at the veterinary school in Davis, California, where he met (as he always said) ‘the love of his life’, Carolyn, and where his daughter Sophie was born. He worked for many years at UCD, focusing on neuropathology, and establishing an excellent relationship with the clinical neurology department. He trained residents and graduate students, generally being quite tough on them, but all of them really loved him.”

Bob and Carolyn met in San Francisco while attending a personal development conference designed to help attendees identify and resolve inherited patterns of behavior causing emotional and spiritual pain. Bob’s early experiences in Australia had shaped many of his views, and he constantly worked to understand and overcome the prejudices and behaviors to which he was exposed early in his life.

Bob and Carolyn’s daughter Sophie was born in 1991. Sophie is a physician specializing in cardiothoracic medicine and intensive care medicine. Bob was incredibly proud of his daughter, now 30 years of age, and Bob’s face would light up whenever he spoke of her. Sophie spent a year in Adelaide with Carolyn in 2005-06, and Bob was able to join them for six months of that time. Bob always spoke of this time with a huge smile on his face. Bob’s creative use of ‘colorful’ Aussie slang words lives on in Sophie.

Bob loved to travel, and was able to spend time with Carolyn in recent years traveling to Arnhem Land, Tasmania, Antarctica, and the Galapagos Islands, and in 2019 spent six weeks in his beloved Australia.

The above description of Bob’s achievements falls far short of the true impact he had on the field of veterinary neuropathology, the individuals he mentored and with whom he interacted, and his professional friendships. Bob impacted the lives of all he encountered. He served as a mentor to many residents in anatomic pathology and neurology, helping them survive some of their worst nightmare days by hearing their gossiping and drama, and having a good laugh together. He treated them with gratitude and admiration. He was upfront and forward about his interpretations.

He wrote (with coauthors Marc Vandevelde and Anna Overmann) a landmark textbook on neuropathology. Bob was a very active individual, with a love and enthusiasm for the outdoors and sports. Bob loved bees and orchids. He loved going fishing in Baja in his treasured van, and being captain for a day or two while sailing in San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge.

In the words of Marc Vandevelde:

“Bob could get extremely excited about any aspect of neuropathology and often pursued a research idea with great enthusiasm - but he could just as quickly lose interest. Despite this somewhat ‘mercurial’ approach to science, Bob has greatly contributed to the field of diagnostic neuropathology as numerous publications testify on a wide range of subjects from infectious diseases to neurodegenerations. He became the expert on the classification and diagnosis of canine brain tumors, and published many well-cited papers on this subject. His interest in brain tumors fostered his last big research undertaking in the domain of comparative neuro-oncology, in collaboration with veterinary and human neurologists, promoting canine brain tumors as a model for human CNS neoplasms.”

“In addition to his devotion to family, Bob always had many other interests. Bob loved nature, and was all his life angry and sad about its progressive degradation. Born on the seashore, he was very much attached to the ocean. Bob was amazingly well read. He devoured mountains of books, from novels to political essays, and one of his first remarks upon meeting was often: ‘you should read this or that book’. He was not only interested in literature, but also in art and history. He traveled to many places in Europe visiting cities and museums, of which he never could get enough. He also loved to fly his little plane, and to play squash with great energy, although ultimately ruining his knees.”

Bob was humble in many ways and always shared his great embarrassment at knowing “so little”. He was committed to improving veterinary diagnostic neuropathology by collaborating with human neuropathologists, and he was an advocate for using spontaneous animal cancers, such as canine glioma, as translational models of human cancers. Unquestionably, his life was driven by his enthusiasm for learning and knowing more and more. He would shake his head and whisper “unbelievable”, while learning about the latest biotechnological advances in treating some neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease.

Bob was a perfectionist when it came to the illustration of morphology. His love for art and morphology at its finest made him an avid admirer of Gustav Klimt’s exquisite artwork and a follower of Greg Dunn’s neuro art, including ink paintings on gold leaf fusing art and science. He was similarly critical when it came to the capture of images for veterinary articles or book figures. A great tribute to his demand for finesse and quality is embedded in each image panel in the chapter concerning tumors of the nervous system in the 5^th edition of Tumors of Domestic Animals (2017). As Bob would say: “they are a beauty, and they will blow your mind”.

Perhaps ironically for a neuropathologist, Bob had the misfortune to develop Parkinson’s Disease. We witnessed the first signs, and then the slow progression of the degradation of his motor system until he was in a wheelchair and lost his ability to speak. This was a heart wrenching experience for all of us. Bob remained stoic until, perhaps mercifully, pneumonia took him away suddenly. We will always remember Bob as a remarkable person, a fine neuropathologist, and a great friend.

Bob is greatly missed by all who interacted with him, knew him, and loved him. We are saddened by his death, and stand beside his family in remembering the wonderful individual that he was. Bob always said that his greatest legacy is his family. Vale Bob.

Life and Times.

Rick LeCouteur
Marc Vandevelde
Sílvia Sisó

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.