Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) in co-occurring vulvar and gastric lesions of a pony.
- Journal:
- Research in veterinary science
- Year:
- 2020
- Authors:
- Porcellato, Ilaria et al.
- Affiliation:
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria · Italy
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 20-year-old female mixed-breed pony was found to have two types of tumors: one on her vulva (the external part of her female genitalia) and another in her stomach. Both tumors tested positive for a virus called Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2), which is thought to be linked to these kinds of tumors in horses. The researchers found specific markers of the virus in both the vulvar and stomach tumors, suggesting a connection between them. This is the first time such a link has been reported, but more research is needed to understand how common this virus is and its role in these tumors. The outcome of the pony's treatment was not mentioned in the report.
Abstract
In horses, squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the most common malignant tumors developing on non-pigmented skin, muco-cutaneous areas, like external genitalia, and, less frequently, in the stomach. Growing evidence suggests Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) as causative agent of genital SCCs. Our case report describes a 20-year-old, female, mixed-breed pony with co-occurring vulvar papilloma and in situ carcinoma and gastric SCC. Both lesions were positive for the same EcPV2, as confirmed by DNA sequencing. E6 mRNA expression was observed both in vulvar lesions and gastric SCC, while L1 mRNA was expressed in the vulvar tumor. To the best of the Authors' knowledge, this is the first report of an association between EcPV2 and equine gastric squamous cell carcinoma, with co-occurring EcPV2-positive genital lesions. Further studies are required to assess the real prevalence and the possible role of this viral type in these equine tumors.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32590224/