Publikationsdatenbank

Neoplasia in pet guinea pigs: a retrospective analysis of 2,474 autopsy examinations (2025)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Bertram, Christof A.

Donovan, Taryn A.

Bertram, Beate

Sabara, Julia

Klopfleisch, Robert (WE 12)

Quelle

Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians

Bandzählung: 37

Heftzählung: 1

Seiten: 94 – 103

ISSN: 1040-6387

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10406387241288642

DOI: 10.1177/10406387241288642

Kontakt

Institut für Tierpathologie

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 15
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62450
pathologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Neoplasia is a common disease in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus); however, few studies have evaluated the prevalence of neoplasia in all organ systems. We retrospectively analyzed the tumor prevalence in pet guinea pigs and the frequency of metastasis in a multi-institutional study population of 2,474 autopsy cases. Tumors were found in 508 guinea pigs (prevalence: 20.5%), of which 95 cases had >1 tumor, resulting in a total of 627 tumors. The tumor prevalence increased from 1.4% in animals <0.5-y-old to 53.6% for guinea pigs >5-y-old. The most common tumor type was lymphoma or leukemia, affecting 174 guinea pigs (tumor prevalence: 7.0%). Lymphomas or leukemias were disseminated to various organs and/or lymph nodes in 146 (83.9%) cases and localized to 1 organ or 1 lymph node in 28 (16.1%) cases. Primary non-lymphoid tumors were most frequent in the female genital tract (62 of 1,235 cases, mostly uterus), respiratory system (116 of 2,474), skin including mammary gland (81 of 2,474), endocrine system (66 of 2,474, mostly thyroid gland), and alimentary tract (35 of 2,474). Tumors of the alimentary tract were dominated by gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Metastasis was detected in 42 of 453 non-lymphoid tumors (9.3%), with a surprisingly low frequency for pulmonary carcinoma and splenic hemangiosarcoma compared to other species. Our postmortem study demonstrates a high prevalence of disseminated lymphoma or leukemia in pet guinea pigs at the time of death or euthanasia. Additional studies are needed to further characterize these tumors.