<i>TP53</i>Gene and Cancer Resistance in Elephants

Pessier, Allan P.; Stern, Jere K.; Witte, Carmel

doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0449

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…These results demonstrate a greater need for collaborations with zoological institutions and a need for well-developed pathology programs with long-term medical data across zoological institutions. The higher prevalence of neoplasia in elephants reported here will not be a surprise to the elephant veterinary community, as it is common knowledge that older female elephants develop uterine lesions [ 40 ]. Many of observed lesions are benign growths or leiomyomas (fibroids), similar to the benign uterine fibroids that occur in over 70% of women throughout their lifetime [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals

Boddy

Abegglen

Pessier

et al. 2020

Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

149

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Cancer is a common diagnosis in many mammalian species, yet they vary in their vulnerability to cancer. The factors driving this variation are unknown, but life history theory offers potential explanations to why cancer defense mechanisms are not equal across species. Here we report the prevalence of neoplasia and malignancy in 37 mammalian species, representing 11 mammalian orders, using 42 years of well curated necropsy data from the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We collected data on life history components of these species and tested for associations between life history traits and both neoplasia and malignancy, while controlling for phylogenetic history. These results support Peto’s paradox, in that we find no association between lifespan and/or body mass and the prevalence of neoplasia or malignancy. However, a positive relationship exists between litter size and prevalence of malignancy (p=0.005, Adj. R2=0.212), suggesting that a species’ life history strategy may influence cancer vulnerabilities. Lastly, we tested for the relationship between placental invasiveness and malignancy. We find no evidence for an association between placental depth and malignancy prevalence (p=0.618, Adj. R2=0.068). These findings provide insight into the relationship between life history traits and cancer vulnerabilities, which suggest a trade-off between reproduction and cancer defenses. Lay Summary Comparative oncology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals

Boddy

Abegglen

Pessier

et al. 2020

Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

149

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“…These data show that prevalence of neoplasia in captive elephants is similar to humans and other captive zoo mammals. 6,49 Despite the limited literature, the practical experience of veterinarians, pathologists, and caretakers indicates neoplasia may be an important factor in health and welfare.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reproductive tract neoplasia in adult female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

et al. 2021

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Recent reports have highlighted a lower-than-expected prevalence of neoplasia in elephants and suggested mechanisms for cancer resistance. But despite infrequent reports in the literature, uterine neoplasia is common in managed Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus). This study is an archival review of reproductive tract neoplasia in 80 adult female Asian elephant mortalities in managed care facilities in the United States from 1988 to 2019. Neoplasms occurred in 64/80 (80%) of cases. Most were in the uterus (63/64; 98%) with only a single case of ovarian neoplasia. Myometrial leiomyomas were present in 57/63 (90%) cases with uterine neoplasia. Uterine adenocarcinoma was present in 8/63 (13%) cases. Remaining cases included endometrial adenoma (2), focal carcinoma in situ in endometrial polyps (1), anaplastic carcinoma (1), endometrial hemangioma (1), primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET; 1), and angiosarcoma (1). One case with uterine adenocarcinoma had a separate pelvic mass histologically characterized as an anaplastic sarcoma. Distant metastases were documented in 5/8 (63%) cases of uterine adenocarcinoma, and in the uterine anaplastic carcinoma, PNET, and angiosarcoma. Four uterine adenocarcinomas and one carcinoma in situ were examined immunohistochemically for pan-cytokeratin, vimentin, and estrogen receptor. In all, neoplastic cells were pan-cytokeratin positive and vimentin negative, and in 2 cases were immunoreactive for estrogen receptor. Results show that female reproductive tract neoplasia, particularly of the uterus, is common in Asian elephants and is not limited to leiomyomas. Importantly, uterine neoplasms have the potential to impact fecundity and may represent obstacles to conservation in managed care.

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Proboscidae

Landolfi¹,

Terrell²

2018

Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals

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TP53Gene and Cancer Resistance in Elephants

Cited by 5 publications

References 5 publications

Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals

Lifetime cancer prevalence and life history traits in mammals

Reproductive tract neoplasia in adult female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Proboscidae

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