Spontaneous Peritoneal Malignant Mesothelioma in a Geriatric Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata)
Friday, April 27th, 2007.
Experimental Animals. Vol. 56 (2007) , No. 2 155-159 [Link]
Jyoji YAMATE1), Akitada TOMITA1), Mitsuru KUWAMURA1), Fusako MITSUNAGA2) and Shin NAKAMURA2)
1) Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University
2) Molecular Biology Section, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University
Abstract
A 28.5-year-old female Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) was euthanatized because of abdominal distension due to severe ascites. Nodular lesions of varying sizes up to 5 mm in diameter were distributed diffusely on the surface of the omentum, mesentery and parietal peritoneum. No neoplastic masses were detected in any visceral organ. The nodules were composed of proliferation of mono- or multi-layered epithelial-like cells occasionally showing papillary growth and sheets of small round or polygonal cells. Signet ring-like cells and tubular structures were occasionally present. Neoplastic cells were strongly positive to cytokeratin, and occasionally to vimentin. Based on gross and histopathological findings, this tumor was diagnosed as an epithelial type of peritoneal malignant mesothelioma, the first reported case in the non-human primates.
Keywords: Japanese macaque, peritoneal malignant mesothelioma, signet ring-like cell
Glossary
- cell
- the basic unit of which all living things are made. Cells replace themselves by splitting and forming new cells (mitosis). The processes that control the formation of new cells and the death of old cells are disrupted in cancer.
- tumor
- an abnormal lump or mass of tissue. Tumors can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
- mesothelioma
- a tumor derived from mesothelial tissue, such as the peritoneum (lining the abdomen) or pleura (lining the lungs). More on mesothelioma.
- peritoneal
- (pair-uh-tuh-nee-al) the serous membrane that lines the cavity of the abdomen. (More on Peritoneal Mesothelioma.)
- ascites
- (uh-sigh-tees) excess fluid accumulation in the abdominal (peritoneal) cavity.
