First histological examination of a neoplastic lesion from a free‐swimming white shark, Carcharodon carcharias L.

Poorly differentiated soft tissue sarcoma in an Arabian carpet shark Chiloscyllium arabicum (Gubanov): A case report

“…Tumours involved the nervous, digestive, integumentary, excretory, hematopoietic, reproductive, skeletal and endocrine systems of animals from inshore and offshore locations, as well as public aquaria. Since then, additional reports of neoplastic and proliferative lesions in elasmobranchs have included gingival mucoepidermoid papilloma in a captive sandtiger shark, Carcharias taurus (Rafinesque) and epulis in a wild‐caught blue shark, Prionace glauca (L.) (Borucinska, Harshbarger, Reimschuessel, & Bogicevic, ), melanoma in a wild‐caught nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre), (Waldoch, Burke, Ramer, & Garner, ), cutaneous lymphosarcoma in a captive bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo (L.) (Manire, Clarke, Wert, & Landolfi, ), presumptive dysgerminoma in an orange‐spot freshwater stingray, Potamotrygon motoro (Müller and Henle) (Jafarey, Berlinski, Hanley, Garner, & Kiupel, ), and a gingival fibrohistiocytoma in a great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (L.) (Huveneers et al., ; ). Dermal and renal fibromas, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, melanoma, pituitary adenoma and adenoma of the corpuscle of Stannius were also observed in at least five shark or ray species by Garner ().…”

Multi-year growth progression of a neoplastic lesion on a bull shark (<em>Carcharhinus leucas</em>)

“…With the fishing lure gone, a downward deformation of the gingival area inferiorly to the lesion and lack of dentition in the affected region can be seen. Observations from March 2013 onwards reveal a large red-brown multi-lobulated mass, attached the gingival margin via a narrow, white stalk ( Figure 1D-F, Video 3), similar in appearance to the proliferative lesion recently documented in a white shark Carcharodon carcharias [10] [12]. The stalk is long enough to allow the mass to move in and out from the oral cavity ( Figure 1G).…”

“…However, the popularity of sharks as exhibit animals in aquariums with the consequent need for adequate care [7], increased awareness of conservation issues [8], and evidence that the epigonal cells of sharks can inhibit growth of mammalian tumour cell lines [9] have recently led to an increased interest in describing tumours from various shark species. However, the two main difficulties with diagnosing tumours are the logistical constraints of obtaining the necessary samples to diagnose the lesion (but see [10]) and the inability to observe morphological changes of a tumour through time.…”

Dermal fibroma in a tawny nurse shark, Nebrius ferrugineus (Lesson, 1831)

“…A case of cutaneous osteoma, appearing as a plaque, has been described in a wild captured tawny nurse shark ( N. ferrugineus ) kept in captivity in the Lisbon Oceanarium (Pereira & Peleteiro, ). In addition to the paucity of studies, the rarity of reports on neoplasms in sharks can be attributed to their habitat wherein they are exposed to diluted level of environmental carcinogens (Huveneers et al, ). Furthermore, limited surveillance and reporting concomitant with difficulties in accessing and sampling chondrichthyes may also contribute to low incidence of tumours in these species (Camus, Ibrahim, Al Hizab, Aboellail, & Ibrahim, ).…”