Medycyna Wet. 2011, 67 (6) 422
Opis przypadku Case report
Hepatocellular carcinoma (hepatocellular
carcino-ma) is a malicious primary epithelial hepatic tumour
originating from hepatocytes (12). It occurs in three
forms: a massive tumour of one lobe, numerous
tuber-cules covering the entire liver parenchyma, and diffuse
infiltration. Histologically, it usually has a trabecular
structure and a high mitotic rate; individual cells can
be well or poorly differentiated (6, 11). It is identified
in various species of animals, but rarely in birds. It is
the most common primary liver cancer in dogs (14).
Hepatocellular carcinoma has been reported in various
species of wild birds, such as rosy-billed duck (Netta
peposaca), red-headed duck (Aythya americana),
orange-headed ground thrust (Zoothera citrina),
black--headed pitta (Pitta sordida), budgerigar
(Melopsitta-cus undulatus), lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor),
black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus), king quail
(Co-turnix chinensis), canary (Serinus canaria) and
peach--faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) (9, 11, 13, 15,
18). As for domestic birds, it rarely occurs in hens but
has been more frequently reported in ducks (9). There
are no reported cases of hepatocellular adenocarcinoma
in a racing pigeon in the available literature.
Hepatocellular adenocarcinoma is very rarely treated
separately from hepatocellular carcinoma, and the only
case of such a tumour has been described in a
white--tailed deer (11). A distinguishing criterion is the
for-mation of distinct glandular ducts.
The racing pigeon (Columba livia domestica) is a bird
bred mainly for sport purposes: it participates in
com-petitions where a good physical condition and
endu-rance matter. In sunny weather, it can return from
a distance of 1,000 km within a day (4). Individual
specimens can sometimes be very valuable.
Description of the case
The owner of an 8-month-old, 270 g racing pigeon of a highly inbred line noticed that the bird had no appetite and was considerably weakened. For 7 days before the appearance of disease symptoms, the pigeon had been fed a diet consisting exclusively of carrot. After this diet, the bird showed increased thirst, and excreted diluted greenish--yellow droppings. Clinical examination revealed enlarge-ment of abdominal integuenlarge-ments with a noticeable abdominal mass just behind the breastbone comb; strong emaciation combined with muscular dystrophy; and pain, which grew more intense during digital palpation. A suspected cause was occlusion of the alimentary canal. In order to diagnose the site of occlusion in the alimentary canal, two X-ray images with a contrast medium (barium sulfate) were taken at 20-minute intervals. The images excluded any occlusion of the alimentary canal. Ultrasonographic
exa-Hepatocellular adenocarcinoma in a racing pigeon
MAGDALENA SZWEDA, TOMASZ STENZEL*, KATARZYNA PADZIOR**, ANNA KO£ODZIEJSKA***, TOMASZ MÊCIK-KRONENBERG****
Department of Pathophysiology, Forensic Veterinary Medicine and Administration,
*Department of Bird Diseases, **Department of Pathological Anatomy, ***Department of Clinical Diagnostics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Warmia and Mazury, Oczapowskiego Str. 13-14, 10-719 Olsztyn
****Department of Pathology, Medical University of Silesia, 3 Maja Str. 13-15, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland
Szweda M., Stenzel T., Padzior K., Ko³odziejska A., Mêcik-Kronenberg T.
Hepatocellular adenocarcinoma in a racing pigeon
SummaryPrimary hepatic tumours are rare in birds. The aim of this paper is to present a case of hepatocellular adenocarcinoma (hepatocellular adenocarcinoma) in an 8-month-old racing pigeon. Dominant symptoms in clinical examinations included lack of appetite, dyspnoea and apathy. Physical examinations revealed a perceptible mass in the anterior part of the visceral cavity. Moreover, radiological examination revealed asymmetric enlargement of the liver and the presence of fluid in the visceral cavity. Ultrasonographic exami-nation confirmed multifocal lesions in the liver tissue. Histopathological examiexami-nation of the liver revealed tumour cells forming into glandular ducts, with malignant properties and a moderate level of diversification. No description of hepatocellular adenocarcinoma in a racing pigeon has been found in the available litera-ture.
Medycyna Wet. 2011, 67 (6) 423
mination revealed disseminated hypoechogenic lesions of the liver tissue. An X-ray examination of the visceral cavity revealed that the entire liver was enlarged, with round edges, while the image of other organs was blurred because of the accumulation of fluid inside. On the other hand, an X-ray examination of the lungs excluded tumour metasta-sis to this organ. A blood sample was taken from the basilic vein, and biochemical and morphological blood tests were
carried out, proving an increased activity of hepatic enzy-mes (tab. 1), as well as anaemia and leucocytosis.
The bird was kept for stationary treatment in a private veterinary practice specialising in treating ornamental birds. The treatment involved the application of preparations regenerating the liver parenchyma (Sodiazot, Columbovet 0.5 ml/100 ml water/all day; Ideal Pills, Versele Laga 1 pill a day) and hydrating the bird (Duphalyte, Scanvet 0.5 ml s.c.1 × a day). In view of established problems with food digestion and poor appetite, the bird was given extra food in the form of a commercial feed for the manual breed-ing of parrot nestlbreed-ings, containbreed-ing digestive enzymes (HBDs Avian Enzyme, Avifood). The feed was supplied manually with a probe to the crop. The treatment achieved a short-term improvement in the condition of the pigeon, but after two weeks its health worsened significantly, and in the third week of treatment, neurological deficiencies were observed (staggering gait, reeling, unnatural posture, paresis and paralysis of limbs). After consultations with
r e t e m a r a P Concenrtaiton Untis P L A 788 U/L T L A 105 U/L H D L 180 U/L T S A 528 U/L K C 173 U/L
Tab. 1. Biochemical blood test results in racing pigeon with hepatocellular adenocarcinoma
Fig. 1. Liver with nodular lesions in the pigeon (Columba
livia domestica) Fig. 2. Hepatocellular adenocarcinoma cell nuclei revealsignificant polymorphism. Large nucleoli contain an acido-philic substance (arrows). HE stain.
Fig. 4. Blocks of neoplastic cells are surrounded with thick streaks of the fibrous connective tissue (white arrow), in which individual neoplastic cells occur. Thrombotic necrosis mar-ked with the black arrow. HE stain.
Fig. 3. Hepatocellular adenocarcinoma lipid and protein sub-stances (arrows) depositing intracellularly. HE stain.
Medycyna Wet. 2011, 67 (6) 424
the owner, the decision was made to euthanize the bird. An autopsy revealed ascites and an enlarged liver with light foci and tumours, ranging in size between 1 and 6 mm and in colour between white and brown. Samples of the changed liver were taken for histopathological examination. They were preserved in 10% buffered formalin, after which paraffin sections, 3-4 µm thick, were stained with hemato-xylin-eosin (HE) and PAS according to McManus. Micro-scopic examination revealed the presence of infiltrative neo-plastic tissue originating from hepatic cells (hepatocytes). The parenchyma of the tumour had a lobular-trabecular structure (without hepatic triads and central veins) with clear architectonical differentiation towards glandular ducts and abundant connective tissue assuming the shape of indivi-dual fragments of its tissue. Extensive necrotic foci were also observed, separated from the tumour parenchyma by a demarcation belt of connective tissue. Tumour cells showed moderate differentiation, with sparse mitotic figures, and were characterized by acidophilic cytoplasm subject to strong vacuolization. Cell nuclei with distinct nucleoli showed significant polymorphism, vesicular structure and irregular contours. The results of microscopic examinations of the pigeons liver enabled the diagnosis of moderately differentiated hepatocellular adenocarcinoma.
Discussion
The cause of this spontaneous primary liver cancer
in birds is unknown, although viral aetiologies (e.g.
polyoma virus, reovirus, herpesvirus, adenovirus) of
avian hepatic tumours have often been proposed (3).
It has been proven that the development of
hepatocel-lular carcinoma can be caused by the consumption of
cereal products contaminated with alfatoxynamins
produced by Aspergilus flavus. Aflatoxin has been
used to induce hepatic tumours in ducks (1, 16). The
processes of reconstruction occurring in a cirrhotic liver
can lead to the formation of a primary hepatocellular
cancer regardless of the aetiology of cirrhosis. Cirrhosis
and chronic hepatitis have both been shown to
pre-dispose ducks to the development of hepatocellular
carcinomas. Additionally, chronic inflammation
incre-ases the level of cytokines, which are responsible for
neoplastic transformation (5). The research indicates
that an increased level of iron associated with hepatic
cirrhosis intensifies neoplastic transformation (19).
Other risk factors include some inborn hepathopaties,
Trichomonas gallinae infection, hormonal disorders
and the presence of the hepatitis B virus in the body
(3, 8). Since pigeons usually feed on mixtures of
seeds, contamination of the seeds with alfatoxins may
be the main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Doxy-cycline, an antibiotic that is often excessively applied
by pigeon breeders, may also be a significant
hepato-toxic factor.
Primary hepatic cancers most frequently develop
without any symptoms. Clinical symptoms appear late
and are not characteristic. Most often they concern the
alimentary canal (anorexia, flatulencies and
constipa-tions). Enlargement of the liver and ascites are
reve-aled in a later stadium (10). Hepatocellular
adenocar-cinoma is characterized by high metastatic potential.
However, these animal tumours metestasize less
fre-quently than might be predicted from their
histolo-gical features (17). Carcinomas often penetrate the
capsule to implant on the peritoneum. Hematogenous
metastases occur primarily in the lungs, and some
arrive in masses in relatively large vessels (7, 9). In
the case described here, despite the advanced stadium
of cancer, no metastasis was observed in the organs
examined (kidneys, lungs, spleen). The occurrence of
adenocarcinoma hepatocellulare in such a young bird
is also exceptional.
Surgery offers a chance to cure liver cancer if it
occurs as a single tumour. Thanks to the high
regene-rative capacity of the liver, a large part can be
remo-ved without detriment to the health of the animal. If
lesions are disseminated, and the condition of the
patient is poor, surgery is impossible. In typical cases,
the removal of the hepatocellular adenocarcinoma mass
Fig. 6. PAS-positive substance (arrows) surrounding the lobules. PAS staining according to McManus method Fig. 5. The tumour demonstrates pattern of fibrosis (arrows).
Medycyna Wet. 2011, 67 (6) 425
allows the patient to survive for one year after the
surgery (11, 13). Euthanasia is often considered since
clinical signs arising from complications associated
with primary neoplasms (e.g. anorexia) or metastatic
neoplasms (e.g. depression, dyspnoea) are often severe.
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Authors address: vet. surg. Magdalena Szweda, Oczapowskiego Str. 13, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland; e-mail: magdalena.szweda@uwm.edu.pl
