1
|
Willig F, Torpy FJ, Harrison SH, Duke EG, Troan B, Boddy AM, Abegglen LM, Harrison TM. Evaluation of Neoplasia, Treatments, and Survival in Lizard Species. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1395. [PMID: 38791614 PMCID: PMC11117239 DOI: 10.3390/ani14101395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Neoplasia has been reported in lizards, but more research is needed to accurately document the prevalence and prognosis of the various known neoplasms that affect lizards. This study reviewed medical records from an online database, the Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance (ESCRA), and reviewed published literature to determine the prevalence of neoplasia, malignancy, metastasis, treatment strategies, and outcomes by species and sex. Records from 55 individual lizards, 20 different species, and 37 different tumors were identified. In the literature, 219 lizards, 59 species, and 86 unique tumors were identified from 72 published case reports. Potential signalment factors such as age, sex, and species were evaluated to see if they affected case outcome. Additional factors including neoplasia type, presence of metastasis, and types of pursued treatments were also evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed to determine whether a factor was significantly associated with animal death due to the identified neoplasia or with animal survival or death due to other causes (non-neoplastic outcomes). Komodo dragons and savannah monitors were more likely to die from neoplasia compared to other lizard species. Cases where the status of metastasis was unknown were significantly associated with death due to neoplasia. Having an unknown status of male versus female was significantly associated with non-neoplastic outcomes of death. Leukemia and islet cell carcinoma were significantly associated with death due to neoplastic causes. Chondrosarcoma, myxosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and squamous cell carcinoma were significantly associated with non-neoplastic outcomes of death. Surgery alone and radiation therapy alone each were significantly associated with non-neoplastic outcomes of death, while lizards not receiving treatment were significantly associated with death due to neoplasia. Benign neoplasia was significantly associated with non-neoplastic outcomes of death. These results will aid in the improved diagnosis and management of neoplasia in lizard species, as well as expanding our understanding of prognostic indicators of neoplasia in lizards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Willig
- Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
| | - Fred J. Torpy
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Scott H. Harrison
- Department of Biology, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA;
| | - Elizabeth G. Duke
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Clinical Sciences, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Brigid Troan
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Amy M. Boddy
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Lisa M. Abegglen
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Tara M. Harrison
- Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA (E.G.D.); (B.T.); (A.M.B.); (L.M.A.)
- Department of Clinical Sciences, North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hamm CA, Hampe O, Schwarz D, Witzmann F, Makovicky PJ, Brochu CA, Reiter R, Asbach P. A comprehensive diagnostic approach combining phylogenetic disease bracketing and CT imaging reveals osteomyelitis in a Tyrannosaurus rex. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18897. [PMID: 33144637 PMCID: PMC7642268 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75731-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional palaeontological techniques of disease characterisation are limited to the analysis of osseous fossils, requiring several lines of evidence to support diagnoses. This study presents a novel stepwise concept for comprehensive diagnosis of pathologies in fossils by computed tomography imaging for morphological assessment combined with likelihood estimation based on systematic phylogenetic disease bracketing. This approach was applied to characterise pathologies of the left fibula and fused caudal vertebrae of the non-avian dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. Initial morphological assessment narrowed the differential diagnosis to neoplasia or infection. Subsequent data review from phylogenetically closely related species at the clade level revealed neoplasia rates as low as 3.1% and 1.8%, while infectious-disease rates were 32.0% and 53.9% in extant dinosaurs (birds) and non-avian reptiles, respectively. Furthermore, the survey of literature revealed that within the phylogenetic disease bracket the oldest case of bone infection (osteomyelitis) was identified in the mandible of a 275-million-year-old captorhinid eureptile Labidosaurus. These findings demonstrate low probability of a neoplastic aetiology of the examined pathologies in the Tyrannosaurus rex and in turn, suggest that they correspond to multiple foci of osteomyelitis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C A Hamm
- Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, Greifswald University Hospital, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475, Greifswald, Germany
| | - O Hampe
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - D Schwarz
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - F Witzmann
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - P J Makovicky
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
| | - C A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - R Reiter
- Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Richard and Loan Hill Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
| | - P Asbach
- Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
The Use of Self-Inflating Hygroscopic Tissue Expanders to Facilitate Osteosarcoma Removal in a Massasauga Rattlesnake ( Sistrurus catenatus). Case Rep Vet Med 2020; 2020:8813911. [PMID: 32774984 PMCID: PMC7407037 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8813911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A 0.34 kg adult female Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) was presented for evaluation of a subcutaneous mass affecting the ventral scales. The mass was diagnosed as a sarcoma via punch biopsy with no evidence of metastasis on diagnostic imaging. Surgical margins of 1-2 cm were planned to achieve complete excision of the neoplasm. A technique for tissue expansion was employed due to concerns regarding the ability to close the surgical site without excess tension or dehiscence. Two 27 mm diameter × 5 mm hygroscopic self-inflating tissue expanders were placed subcutaneously under the lateral scales adjacent to the mass. Maximum skin expansion occurred over a four-week period, and no direct negative effects were noted. Excision of the primary mass was performed routinely five weeks after implant placement. Primary closure of the defect was achieved with minimal tension by incorporating the expanded skin. While the surgery was successful with no evidence of metastasis, the snake died of sepsis two weeks postoperatively. This is the first report of the use of self-inflating hygroscopic tissue expanders to help close a surgical defect in a reptile.
Collapse
|
4
|
Simard J, Vandermeulen E, Taylor O, Bosseler L, Hellebuyck T. SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF GRANULOMATOUS ESOPHAGITIS ASSOCIATED WITH ESOPHAGEAL PERFORATION IN A GREEN TREE PYTHON (MORELIA VIRIDIS). J Exot Pet Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1053/j.jepm.2018.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
|