Remick AK, Van Wettere AJ, Williams CV. Neoplasia in prosimians: case series from a captive prosimian population and literature review.
Vet Pathol 2009;
46:746-72. [PMID:
19276064 DOI:
10.1354/vp.08-vp-0154-r-fl]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Neoplastic diseases in prosimians have been sporadically reported in the literature. To provide a comprehensive review of prosimian neoplasia, a retrospective evaluation of neoplasia in a large captive prosimian colony and an extensive literature review were performed. Primates that belong to the Order Primata, Suborder Prosimii with histologic evidence of neoplasia were included. One hundred twenty-three cases of spontaneous neoplasia were identified in 101 prosimians from the Duke Lemur Center, and 124 cases were reported in 116 prosimians in the literature. Overall, this review compiled a total of 247 neoplasms in 217 prosimians. Of the 217 affected animals, 88 of 217 were males (41%), 100 of 217 were females (46%), and sex was not reported in 29 of 217 (13%). Ages ranged from 2 days to 36 years. Prosimian families represented were Lemuridae (80/217 [37%]), Cheirogaleidae (61/217 [28%]), Galagidae (44/217 [20%]), Lorisidae (28/217 [13%]), and Indriidae (4/217 [2%]). The most commonly affected species were the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) (28/217 [13%]), thick-tailed greater bush baby (Otolemur crassicaudatus) (23/217 [11%]), and black lemur (Eulemur macaco) (19/217 [9%]). Organ systems affected, in order of descending occurrence, were digestive (75/247 [30%]), reproductive (40/247 [16%]), hematopoietic (34/247 [14%]), integumentary (28/247 [11%]), endocrine (26/247 [11%]), and urinary (17/247 [7%]). The respiratory, nervous, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems were infrequently affected. The most common neoplasms were hepatocellular (32/247 [13%]), lymphoma and/or leukemia (29/247 [12%]), biliary (15/247 [6%]), and mammary neoplasms (12/247 [5%]). This article should serve as a valuable reference for the types and relative frequencies of neoplasms that occur in prosimian species.
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