Cutaneous pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma in a rabbit

Abstract

: A 4-year-old female rabbit presented with two nodular lesions on the left side of the abdomen, adjacent to the femoral region. No surgical operation was done because a malignant skin neoplasm with poor prognosis was suspected. The appetite of the rabbit gradually decreased and the rabbit died 41 days after this presentation. The two nodules rapidly increased and fused into a single large oval mass. Histopathologically, round, spindle-shaped and pleomorphic tumor cells were observed. These tumor cells showed atypical nuclei with mitotic figures and some were multinucleated. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the tumor cells were positive for vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin, but negative for cytokeratin and desmin. Consequently, this case was diagnosed as cutaneous pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma.