Three spontaneous lymphomas in a colony of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Cotton-top tamarins are well known for their prevalence to idiopathic colitis and adenocarcinomas. At the same time, information on the incidence of spontaneous lymphomas in this highly endangered species is rare. Records, 212 in total, of cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) necropsied at the German Primate Centre between 1979 and 1998 were viewed to establish the prevalence of lymphoid neoplasms. Neoplastic lymphoid cell growth was mentioned in three necropsy records. Immunohistology was performed in all three cases on the remaining formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue using antibodies against CD20, CD3, lysozyme, Ki-67, IgM, IgG, kappa, lambda and EBNA-2. Combining histological and immunohistological results, the lymphomas could be differentiated into two low-grade T-cell lymphomas and one high-grade multicentric polymorphic B-cell lymphoma. This corresponds to a 1.4% incidence of lymphomas in our cotton-top tamarin population over a period of 19 years. Although frozen material was not available and virological testing could not be carried out, clinical or histological evidence did not support an aetiological role of Herpes (H.) saimiri, H. ateles, simian T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 (STLV-1) or Epstein-Barr-related herpesvirus in any of these cases. The lymphomas were considered to be spontaneous.