Type A thymoma in a pet rabbit

Abstract

A 4-y-old, spayed female, mixed-breed domesticated rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) was presented because of progressive bilateral exophthalmos, with a large mediastinal mass in the cranial thorax. Palliative radiation therapy was elected, and 4 fractions of 5 Gy were delivered twice weekly under general anesthesia using 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy for a total dose of 20 Gy, guided by an on-board cone beam CT scan. Quality-of-life and respiratory rate improved before sudden death that followed an episode of dyspnea. The overall survival time following initial diagnosis was 93 d, with 68 d after the first dose of radiation. An autopsy was performed, and the mass was diagnosed as a type A thymoma. The diagnosis was confirmed with positive immunohistochemical labeling of the neoplastic cells for cytokeratin 5/6 and cytokeratin 7.