Metastatic mammary tubulopapillary carcinoma in a captive black jaguar (Panthera onca)

Abstract

A 12-year-old female captive jaguar (Panthera onca) developed sudden severe respiratory distress and died close to the onset of clinical signs. The animal underwent mastectomy to remove neoplasms in the mammary glands 2 years prior to death. During the post-mortem examination, multiple nodules were found in the remaining left inguinal mammary glands. Similar lesions were found in other organs. Microscopically, neoplasms were characterised by a tubulopapillary pattern with papillary projections into the central lumen of newly formed tubules (tubulopapillary mammary carcinoma). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and high molecular weight cytokeratin on the mammary tissue site and a metastatic site was performed with positive results. IHC for Ki-67 was performed in the mammary lesion with positive labelling in 50% of the cells. In captive felids, malignant neoplasms may be aggressive with limited therapeutic options. Thus, attention is needed in anticipating arising tumours to support the use of control therapies and the long-term preservation of captive jaguars.