Cutaneous Chromatophoromas in Four Species of Australian Elapid Snake

Chromatophoromas in Reptiles

“…This theory is supported by the increased incidence of cutaneous chromatophoromas in sun-loving, day active reptiles, such as bearded dragons ( Pogona sp) and the paucity of tumors in nocturnal reptiles [ 8 , 9 , 13 ]. This theory may be further supported by a series of wild-caught elapid snakes in Australia that developed cutaneous chromatophoromas on the lateral and dorsal body surfaces [ 24 ]. However, in one retrospective study of artificial UV light exposure in various reptiles with cutaneous chromatophoromas, neoplasms were reported in several animals that did not receive artificial UV light as part of their husbandry [ 8 ].…”

“…Chromatophoromas most often present as raised, pigmented masses, but more subtle alterations in scale pigmentation are less commonly described [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 14 ] ( Figure 1 a–e). Melanophoromas are often described as dark brown to black [ 8 , 9 , 12 , 13 , 24 ]. Iridophoromas are often described as white [ 8 , 9 , 25 ].…”

“…Cutaneous chromatophoromas are primarily dermal, but can extend into the subcutis, underlying skeletal muscle, or vertebral column [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 24 , 38 , 39 ]. Malignant tumors tend to have an infiltrative growth pattern [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 32 , 40 ], but ultimate diagnosis is often based on metastatic spread.…”

“…chromatophoromas and a single melanophoroma in a northern red-bellied cooter ( Pseudemys rubriventris ) were diagnosed as mucinous chromatophoromas based on the presence of abundant Periodic acid-Schiff positive, mucinous stroma within the neoplasm [ 9 , 13 , 19 ] ( Figure 4 e). Ulceration of the overlying surface is not uncommon in chromatophoromas (29 out of 208 cases, when reported in the literature) due to their raised cutaneous appearance [ 12 , 13 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 36 , 41 , 42 ]. Intraepithelial neoplastic cells are only described in a small number of snake cases, which most likely represent epithelial invasion rather than junctional activity, as chromatophores do not reside in the epidermis in most reptiles [ 9 , 24 , 43 ].…”

A Multi-Institutional Collaboration to Understand Neoplasia, Treatment and Survival of Snakes

“…A type of multi-institutional study on museum specimens has been done as well as a literature review, however, this study was never able to confirm the presence of neoplasia due to the lack of confirmatory testing [15]. Other studies do exist on reporting snake neoplasia prevalence within a group of snakes, including cutaneous chromatophoromas [11,[16][17][18][19]. One of these previous publications evaluated the prevalence of neoplasia from cases submitted to a diagnostic laboratory and they found that the prevalence was highest in Crotalids, Viperids, and Boids [7].…”