Solitary tracheal B-cell lymphoma in an adult alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

• Published in: BMC veterinary research Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 1 - 429
• Main Authors: Marchionatti, Emma, Van der Vekens, Elke, Peters, Laureen Michèle, Kaiponen, Taina Susanna, Berenguer Veiga, Inês, Zanolari, Patrik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 09.11.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Alpaca; Alpacas; Antibodies; Auscultation; B-cell lymphoma; Case Report; Computed tomography; Diagnosis; Dyspnea; Endoscopy; Esophagus; Health aspects; Lymphatic system; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphoma; Lymphomas; Neoplasia; Radiographs; Radiography; Respiration; South American Camelids; Tracheal diseases; Tracheal lymphoma; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasound; Vertebrae; Veterinary research; Switzerland; United States > US; Japan; Germany
• ISSN: 1746-6148; 1746-6148
• DOI: 10.1186/s12917-020-02640-9

Background This report describes a case of solitary tracheal lymphoma in a 14-year-old alpaca mare. Case presentation The alpaca was referred for dyspnea and inspiratory noise. The clinical examination included complete blood cell count, blood chemistry, endoscopy, ultrasound, radiographs, and computed tomography (CT). A solitary tracheal intraluminal and juxtatracheal lymphoma was diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA). The owner requested euthanasia due to the uncertain prognosis. At postmortem examination, the presence of solitary lymphoma without involvement of other organs was confirmed. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed a B-cell origin. Conclusions Although multicentric lymphoma is the most commonly described neoplasia affecting South American camelids (SAC), solitary forms of the disease may occur. Keywords: South American Camelids, Neoplasia, Tracheal lymphoma, Ultrasound, Radiographs, Computed tomography, Immunohistochemistry