Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Animal Disease Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #402220
Research Project: Control Strategies for Theileriosis

Location: Animal Disease Research Unit

Title: Biphasic pleural mesothelioma in a goat

Author
item Fry, Lindsay
item DENHERDER, JONATHAN - Washington State University
item CLYDE, GAY - Washington State University
item WILLIAMS, LAURA - Washington State University
item Schneider, David

Submitted to: Canadian Veterinary Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2023
Publication Date: 9/1/2023
Citation: Fry, L.M., DenHerder, J., Clyde, G.L., Williams, L.A., Schneider, D.A. 2023. Biphasic pleural mesothelioma in a goat. Canadian Veterinary Journal. 64(9):828-832.

Interpretive Summary: This case report describes the clinical presentation and diagnosis of a biphasic mesothelioma in the thoracic cavity of a goat that was part of a long-term research project. This report will assist veterinarians and owners in identifying space-occupying lesions of the thorax in small ruminants. Clinicians should suspect thoracic masses in cases in which animals exhibit rapid breathing and heart rate, muffled heart and lung sounds on chest auscultation, and alterations in mucous membrane color (especially blue discoloration). While mesotheliomas are rare in goats, other cancers, including thymoma, are more commonly encountered and may present similarly. In addition, non-cancerous diseases, including bacterial infections like tuberculosis and caseous lymphadenitis, as well as parasitic and fungal infections, can also cause large masses in the chest cavity of livestock.

Technical Abstract: An eight-year-old Saanen doe presented for inappetence and intermittent cyanosis of the oral mucous membranes. On physical exam, the goat was depressed, tachypneic and tachycardic, and cardiac sounds were muffled. Euthanasia was elected. Necropsy revealed an infiltrative, multinodular, mass within the left thoracic cavity, with innumerable small, tan nodules disseminated across the pleura of the lungs, thoracic walls, and diaphragm. Upon histologic examination, the mass was composed of highly pleomorphic fusiform to polygonal cells. Neoplastic cells exhibited positive immunoreactivity for both cytokeratin and vimentin, consistent with a diagnosis of biphasic pleural mesothelioma.