Histopathologic Features and Post-surgical Sequelae

Vet Pathol 30:499-504 (1993)
Histopathologic Features and Post-surgical Sequelae of
57 Cutaneous Neoplasms in Ferrets
(Mustela putorius furo L.)
G. A. P A R K ER AND C. A. P ICU T
Biotechnics, Sterling, VA
Abstract, The study o f the signalme nt, histomorphologic features, and po st -surgical clinical progress of 57
cutaneous neo plasms in 55 domes tic ferrets (Mustela put orius I ura L.) was based on diagnostic path ologic
ac cessions ( 198 7-1 992) fro m 142 ferrets. Mea n age of th e gro up was 4.3 years; 3 1/54 (57 %) were female and
23/ 54 (43%) were ma le, T hirt y-three (58%) of the cuta neous neoplas ms were bas al cel l tumors. T he mean age
o f ferrets wit h ba sal cell tumor wa s 5.2 yea rs, a nd 23 /33 (70%) were female. Hi stologica lly, th e ba sal ce ll tu m o rs
were co m posed of well-differentiated basaloid epithelia l ce lls with vario us degrees of sq uamous and sebaceous
differentiation , sim ila r to those see n in basal ce ll neoplasms ofdogs. Nine ofth e 57 (16%) cuta neous neo plasm s
were mastocytomas. The mean age of ferret s with mastocytoma was 4.1 yea rs; four were male, four were fem ale,
a nd th e sex ofo ne wa s unrecorded . Hi st ologicall y, th e mastocytomas were composed of well-differentiated mast
ce lls with few cosino phils, similar to cuta neous mastocytomas of domestic cats. The mast ce lls had a small
num ber o f metachromatic cyto plas m ic gra nules, and in six of eight neoplasm s th e gra nules had an affinity for
co nj uga ted avidin-peroxidase. Six o f th e cutaneous neoplasms (II %) were fibromas. The mean age of ferret s
wi th fi bro m a was 2.7 yea rs; 5 (83(\10) were male. Two cu taneo us heman giomas (4%) were in fem a les, which were
4 and 5 years of age. There was o ne each hemangiosarcoma, cutaneo us po lyp, ana l gland ad enocarcinoma,
lym ph osarco ma of th e pre puce and inguinal lymph node, and adenocarcinoma of the prepuce .
Key words: Bas al ce ll tumor; ferrets; fibroma; fibrosarcoma; mastocytoma; neoplasia; spontaneo us disease.
The ferret (Mustela spp.) is generally recognized as
a low tumor incidence species.'? Th e most commonly
reported tumors are lym ph osarcoma and ovarian neoplasms,
although the incidence ofovarian neoplasms
is strongly influenced by the report of 20 ovarian leiomyo
mas in a single colony of ferrets." Cutaneous neoplasms
arc the th ird most commonly reported neoplasms.
A review ofpublished reports an d unp ublished
case reco rds from 16 diagnostic laborat ories revealed
161 neoplasms in ferrets , 30 of which were located in
the skin or subcutis.'? Published reports of cutaneous
and subcutaneous neoplasms include four ferrets wit h
squamous cell carcinorna.v'