Spontaneous Tumors and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Lesions in Pet Degus (Octodon degus)

Abstract

In recent years, degus (Octodon degus), rodents native to South America, have been becoming increasingly popular as pet animals. Data about neoplastic diseases in this species are still sparse and mainly limited to single-case reports. The aim of this study was to present neoplastic and non-neoplastic proliferative changes in 16/100 pet degus examined at the Veterinary Faculty University of Ljubljana from 2010 to 2015 and to describe the clinic-pathological features of these lesions. Twenty different lesions of the integumentary, musculoskeletal, genitourinary and gastrointestinal systems were diagnosed: amongst these were 13 malignant tumors, six benign tumors, and one non-neoplastic lesion. Cutaneous fibrosarcoma was the most common tumor (7/16 degus). It was detected more often in females (6/7 degus) and lesions were located mainly in hind limbs. The gastrointestinal tract was frequently affected, namely with two malignant neoplasms - an intestinal lymphoma and a mesenteric mesothelioma, four benign tumors – two biliary cystadenomas, an oral squamous papilloma and a hepatocellular adenoma, and a single non-neoplastic proliferative lesion. In one animal, two organic systems were involved in neoplastic lesions.

Thymoma originating from the cervical component of the thymus in a degu

“…27 Myxosarcoma has rarely been reported in degus. 22 Our case with 2 concurrent neoplasms was unusual because degus are known to have a low incidence of neoplastic diseases. 22 When a mass occurs in the cervical area in animals with cervical thymuses, thymoma should be included in the differential diagnosis.…”

“…1,7,9,10,14,18,21 Fibrosarcomas, chordomas, osteosarcomas, and lipomas have been reported most often. 18,22 According to one retrospective study, fibrosarcoma predominated. 22 We describe here the pathologic findings, including the histology and immunohistochemistry, of a thymoma originating from the cervical component of the thymus in a degu, a condition that has not been reported previously in rodents, to our knowledge.…”

A New Tool to Study Parkinsonism in the Context of Aging: MPTP Intoxication in a Natural Model of Multimorbidity

“…Additionally, this animal shows some age-related traits such as spontaneous tumors, kidneys dysfunction or electrocardiographic alterations (unpublished data of our lab) [ 56 , 57 ]. Therefore, the use of this model offers the possibility to set a more realistic scenario related to the complex process of aging, and also to test therapeutic strategies that could slow down the neurodegenerative process [ 49 ].…”

Concurrent extra‐adrenal paraganglioma and uterine leiomyosarcoma in a degu (Octodon degus)

“…Degus are increasingly becoming more common to keep as pets; however, relatively little is known regarding their pathology. In retrospective studies, the prevalence of neoplasia in degus is low, with number of diagnoses including seven tumours in seven degus out of a 189‐degu cohort, 1 six tumours in six degus in a 300‐degu cohort 2 and 19 tumours in 16 degus out of a 100‐degu cohort 3 . Further to this, only eight additional case reports have been published on neoplasms in degus.…”