Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rapidly growing neck lumps in a 9-year-old female chinchilla
By Enomoto, Kaoru et al.·Published in Veterinary medicine and science·2022·Department of Pathology, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of histiocytic sarcoma in a chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera).
- Species:
- rodent
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old female chinchilla was brought to the vet because she had small lumps on her neck that were growing quickly. Tests showed that these lumps were a type of cancer called histiocytic sarcoma. Despite receiving chemotherapy, the chinchilla sadly passed away about two months later. An autopsy revealed that the cancer had spread throughout her body, affecting multiple organs. This case is notable as it is the first documented instance of this type of cancer in chinchillas.
People also search for: chinchilla lumps on neck · chinchilla cancer treatment · histiocytic sarcoma in chinchillas
Abstract
A 9-year-old intact female chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) was presented to a referring veterinarian due to small, multiple cervical nodules that had been rapidly increasing in size and number. Cytology of the nodules revealed sheets of pleomorphic round cells that were morphologically most compatible with histiocytic sarcoma. Histologically, the nodules were fairly demarcated, partially infiltrative, densely cellular neoplasm, and was composed of pleomorphic large round cells arranged in sheets. Special stains for bacteria (Gram stain and Ziehl-Neelsen stain) and fungi (periodic acid-Schiff stain) were all negative. On immunohistochemistry, the neoplastic cells showed strong cytoplasmic positivity for Iba-1 and CD204, but were negative for CD3 and CD20. Transmission electron microscopy failed to detect Birbeck's granules in the cytoplasm of the neoplastic histiocytes. The chinchilla received chemotherapy with lomustine but died spontaneously on day 62 despite treatment. Autopsy with histopathologic examination revealed disseminated histiocytic sarcoma involving the bone marrow, bronchial lymph nodes, nasal cavity, lung, heart, stomach, pancreas, pancreatic lymph nodes, liver, spleen, and kidney. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of disseminated histiocytic sarcoma in chinchillas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34587369/