Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>)
Melanocytic skin tumours have been rarely described in pet rabbits, and exposure to UV light in sparsely haired areas has been hypothesised to play a cancerogenic role. Here, we describe a case of cutaneous malignant melanoma arising from the skin of the scrotum in an 8-year-old male wild rabbit, wi...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/7/471 |
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| author | Jessica Maria Abbate Simone Palazzolo Antonio Ieni Giuseppe Santi Rapisarda Giovanni Lanteri |
| author_facet | Jessica Maria Abbate Simone Palazzolo Antonio Ieni Giuseppe Santi Rapisarda Giovanni Lanteri |
| author_sort | Jessica Maria Abbate |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melanocytic skin tumours have been rarely described in pet rabbits, and exposure to UV light in sparsely haired areas has been hypothesised to play a cancerogenic role. Here, we describe a case of cutaneous malignant melanoma arising from the skin of the scrotum in an 8-year-old male wild rabbit, with testicular metastases as an unusual metastatic site for melanoma reported in humans to date. The tumour was nearly 5 cm in size, firm, and highly pigmented, with multifocal superficial ulcerations and large areas of intratumoural necrosis. The adjacent testis was 1.5 cm, multinodular, and black, obscuring tissue morphology. Histologically, the dermis was expanded by an infiltrative, densely cellular neoplasm composed of nests and sheets of polygonal to spindle neoplastic melanocytes, supported by scant fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells showed intermediate N/C ratio, moderate basophilic cytoplasm, often obscured by abundant brownish granular pigment, and eccentric nuclei with prominent nucleoli. Cellular pleomorphism and nuclear atypia were severe, and high mitotic activity was observed. Diffuse dermal lymphovascular invasion was also observed. The testis was delimited by a thin tunica albuginea, and the parenchyma was largely obscured in its morphology by densely packed neoplastic cells. Seminiferous tubules, lined with a thin basement membrane and containing neoplastic and scattered spermatogenic cells, were occasionally observed. Neoplastic cells within the skin and the testis were positive for HMB-45, Melan-A, and S-100. The growing popularity of rabbits as pets allows for a greater ability to accumulate data on the spontaneous occurrence of tumours in these animals. Furthermore, descriptions of the biological aspects of spontaneously occurring tumours may serve to improve current knowledge in animal species and humans in which the same neoplasm may occur. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:34:32Z |
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| id | doaj.art-be57c3beb7ae4e85a2acb99b18e7f9de |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:34:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-be57c3beb7ae4e85a2acb99b18e7f9de2023-11-18T21:43:04ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812023-07-0110747110.3390/vetsci10070471Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>)Jessica Maria Abbate0Simone Palazzolo1Antonio Ieni2Giuseppe Santi Rapisarda3Giovanni Lanteri4Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168 Messina, ItalyUniversity School for Advanced Studies IUSS Pavia, Piazza della Vittoria, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Human Pathology of Adult and Evolutive Age “Gaetano Barresi”, Section of Pathology, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Prevention, Provincial Health Authority of Catania, 95030 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Papardo, 98166 Messina, ItalyMelanocytic skin tumours have been rarely described in pet rabbits, and exposure to UV light in sparsely haired areas has been hypothesised to play a cancerogenic role. Here, we describe a case of cutaneous malignant melanoma arising from the skin of the scrotum in an 8-year-old male wild rabbit, with testicular metastases as an unusual metastatic site for melanoma reported in humans to date. The tumour was nearly 5 cm in size, firm, and highly pigmented, with multifocal superficial ulcerations and large areas of intratumoural necrosis. The adjacent testis was 1.5 cm, multinodular, and black, obscuring tissue morphology. Histologically, the dermis was expanded by an infiltrative, densely cellular neoplasm composed of nests and sheets of polygonal to spindle neoplastic melanocytes, supported by scant fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells showed intermediate N/C ratio, moderate basophilic cytoplasm, often obscured by abundant brownish granular pigment, and eccentric nuclei with prominent nucleoli. Cellular pleomorphism and nuclear atypia were severe, and high mitotic activity was observed. Diffuse dermal lymphovascular invasion was also observed. The testis was delimited by a thin tunica albuginea, and the parenchyma was largely obscured in its morphology by densely packed neoplastic cells. Seminiferous tubules, lined with a thin basement membrane and containing neoplastic and scattered spermatogenic cells, were occasionally observed. Neoplastic cells within the skin and the testis were positive for HMB-45, Melan-A, and S-100. The growing popularity of rabbits as pets allows for a greater ability to accumulate data on the spontaneous occurrence of tumours in these animals. Furthermore, descriptions of the biological aspects of spontaneously occurring tumours may serve to improve current knowledge in animal species and humans in which the same neoplasm may occur.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/7/471rabbit<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>malignant melanomatesticular metastasesHMB-45Melan-A |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Maria Abbate Simone Palazzolo Antonio Ieni Giuseppe Santi Rapisarda Giovanni Lanteri Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) Veterinary Sciences rabbit <i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i> malignant melanoma testicular metastases HMB-45 Melan-A |
| title | Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) |
| title_full | Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) |
| title_short | Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma with Testicular Metastases in a Wild Rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>) |
| title_sort | cutaneous malignant melanoma with testicular metastases in a wild rabbit i oryctolagus cuniculus i |
| topic | rabbit <i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i> malignant melanoma testicular metastases HMB-45 Melan-A |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/7/471 |
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