Morphological and immunohistochemical characterization and molecular classification of spontaneous mammary gland tumors in macropods

Abstract

Mammary gland neoplasms in macropods are uncommonly reported, and the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics are incompletely described. The goal of this study was to describe the morphologic features of macropod mammary neoplasms and to determine the molecular subtypes of mammary carcinomas using a panel of antibodies against estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her-2), p63, smooth muscle actin (SMA), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Biopsy and necropsy specimens were examined from 21 macropods with mammary tumors submitted to Northwest ZooPath from 1996 to 2019. In accordance with the histologic classification of canine mammary tumors proposed by Goldschmidt and colleagues, tubulopapillary (2), tubular (10), and comedo-carcinomas (2), adenoma (1), lobular hyperplasia (3), fibroadenomatous hyperplasia (1), and mastitis (2) were diagnosed. Red kangaroos ( Osphranter rufus) were most commonly diagnosed with mammary carcinomas (79% of all carcinomas). Seven carcinomas had lymphovascular invasion and 2 also had pulmonary metastases. Six of these 7 carcinomas were classified as grade 3. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for all antibodies was performed on 9/14 carcinomas, and partial IHC was performed for 3 cases. All 12 carcinomas were immunoreactive for PR, 5 for ER, 9 for EGFR, and none for Her-2. Five of the 9 mammary carcinomas with complete IHC data were classified as luminal A subtype, and 4 were normal-like subtype. Accurate classification of mammary tumors in macropods based on morphology, immunohistological characteristics, and molecular subtype may be helpful in guiding clinical management, prognosis, and potential therapeutic targets.