A Primary Pulmonary Sarcoma in a Rhesus Monkey after Inhalation of Plutonium Dioxide

Abstract

A pulmonary fibrosarcoma of bronchial origin was discovered in a Rhesus monkey that died of pulmonary fibrosis 9 years after inhalation of plutonium-239 dioxide and with a radiation dose to lung of 1400 rad (14 Gy). It grew around the major bronchus of the right cardiac lung lobe and extended into the bronchial lumen and into surrounding pulmonary parenchyma. It also readily invaded muscular pulmonary arteries, resulting in infarction and scarring in the right cardiac lobe. Despite this aggressive growth, the tumor did not metastasize. The primary cause of death was severe pulmonary fibrosis involving the alveolar septa and and perivascular and peribronchial interstitium. Bullous or pericitrical emphysema was prominent. The initial lung burden of plutonium in this monkey was 270 nCi (10 kBq) which is equivalent to approximately 500 times the maximum permissible lung burden for man on a radioactivity per unit body weight basis. The time-dose relationship for survival is consistent with that of dogs and baboons that inhaled plutonium dioxide and died with lung tumors.

Neoplasia and Proliferative Disorders of Nonhuman Primates

“…Other uncommon primary pulmonary tumors include a bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma with metastasis in a bonnet macaque (Giddens and Dillingham, 1971;Nicholls and Schwartz, 1980), a clear cell carcinoma in a pigtailed macaque , a bronchigenic carcinoma in a blue monkey (Suleman et al, 1984), and a multicentric pulmonary carcinoid in a rhesus macaque (Giddens and Dillingham, 1971). A primary pulmonary sarcoma has been reported in a rhesus macaque secondary to inhalation of plutonium dioxide (Hahn et al, 1987). A malignant mesothelioma involving the pleural cavity has been reported in an olive baboon (P. anubis) (Fortman et al, 1993).…”

“…A pulmonary fibrosarcoma of bronchial origin was produced in a rhesus monkey 9 years after inhalation of plutonium-239 dioxide (Hahn et al, 1987). Baboon experiments with inhaled plutonium-239 dioxide resulted in lung tumors in three animals between 107 and 2528 days after exposure (Bair et al, 1980).…”

Respiratory System Diseases of Nonhuman Primates

“…Squamous (epidermoid) carcinoma of the lung occurred in two of six galagos (Galago crassicaudatus panengiensis) that received a weekly intratracheal instillation of 3e15 mg of benzo[a]pyrene combined with an equal weight of powdered ferric oxide over a 67-to 69-week period (Crocker et al, 1970). A single bronchial fibrosarcoma has been reported in a rhesus monkey that died due to pulmonary fibrosis nine years following experimental inhalation of plutonium-239 (Hahn et al, 1987). Bauer and Woodfield (1995) provide a detailed review of the variety of problems in veterinary medicine associated with the diaphragm, pleura, and mediastinum.…”

Spontaneous pulmonary adenosquamous carcinoma in a free‐living black capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus)

“…15 Although the etiopathogenesis of lung cancer in NHPs is unknown in most instances, identified causes may include radioactive compounds, for example, inhaled plutonium dioxide, smoke, and viruses. 16,17 While histogenetic similarities between NHP and human neoplasms exist, some subtypes of lung cancer are yet to be described in NHPs. Herein, we provide the first evidence of occurrence of pulmonary adenosquamous carcinoma (PASC) in NHPs.…”