Histopathology of Ovarian Tumors in Laying Hens

Abstract

The high mortality rate due to ovarian cancer is attributed to the lack of an effective early detection method. Due to the non-specificity of symptoms at early stage, most of the ovarian cancer cases are detected at late stages. This makes the access to women with early stage disease problematic and presents a barrier to development and validation of tests for detection of early stage of ovarian cancer in humans. Animal models are used to elucidate disease etiologies and pathogenesis that are difficult to study in humans. Laying hen is the only available animal that develops ovarian cancer spontaneously; however, detail information on ovarian tumor histology is not available. The goal of this study was to determine the histological features of malignant ovarian tumors in laying hens. A total of 155 young and old (1-5 years of age) laying hens (Gallus domesticus) were selected randomly and evaluated gross and microscopically for the presence of ovarian tumors. Histological classification of tumors with their stages and grades were performed with reference to those for humans. Similar to humans, all four types including serous, endometrioid, mucinous and clear cell or mixed carcinomas were observed in hen ovarian tumors. Some early neoplastic as well as putative ovarian lesions were also observed. Similarities in histology, metastasis and stages of hen ovarian cancer to those of humans demonstrate the feasibility of the hen model for additional delineation of the mechanism underlying ovarian carcinogenesis, preclinical testing of new agents for the prevention and therapy of this disease. Keywordsovarian cancer; preclinical model; laying hen; tumor histology Ovarian cancer (OVCA) is a fatal disease of women with the highest mortality rate of all gynecological malignancies. Approximately 70% of women with OVCA die of this disease (1,2). Survival is high in women who present with early stage disease(3,4). The lack of specific symptoms, the relative inaccessibility of the ovaries deep in the pelvis, and the absence of NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptInt J Gynecol Cancer. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 May 1. Published in final edited form as:Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2009 May ; 19(4): 531-539. doi:10.1111/IGC.0b013e3181a41613. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript specific marker(s) represent barriers for early detection (5,6). In most cases, OVCA is diagnosed at a late stage(3). Furthermore, our understanding of the early pathogenesis of OVCA has been hindered by the lack of sufficient number of patients with early stage disease (3,4,7). Animal models are used to elucidate disease etiologies and pathogenesis that are difficult to study in humans. Although large domestic mammals including bovine have similar reproductive traits and develop OVCA spontaneously similar to humans, the low incidence rate, multiple pregnancies, longer gestation and lactation period make them an inappropriate model for human OVCA. On the other hand, a number of rodent models, induced or g...

Multi-peptide nLC-PC-IDMS-SRM-based Assay for the quantification of biomarkers in the chicken ovarian cancer model

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“…18 Furthermore, multiple milliliters of blood can be drawn from birds over time without sacrificing the animal thereby facilitating longitudinal studies. These aspects combined with the ability to control genetic, environmental, and sample collection variables make the chicken a powerful experimental system for MS-based strategies at the global and targeted level.…”

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The PeptideAtlas of the Domestic Laying Hen

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