Multicentric malignant round cell tumour in a cria: Clinical presentation, pathologic findings and differential diagnoses

Abstract

AbstractA 2‐month‐old cria that died following a short episode of constipation and diarrhoea was presented for a postmortem examination. The main macroscopic findings were widely disseminated, multinodular, whitish lesions involving liver and kidney and severe and diffuse haemorrhagic jejunitis. Histopathologically, the nodules are characterised by sheets of neoplastic round cells. An immunohistochemical panel including lymphoid, histiocytic/myeloid and pan‐neuroendocrine markers was performed. Taking into account the epidemiology of malignant round cell tumours in camelids, the neoplastic cell morphology as well as the negativity to all the tested markers, null cell lymphoma is considered as the most likely differential diagnosis. As recently highlighted by the literature, these findings confirm lymphoma as a potential systemic and aggressive neoplasm in young alpacas.