Primitive neuroectodermal neoplasia in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch

Twelve coho salmon, approximately 8 weeks old, were each observed to have a single neoplasm involving the dorsolateral axial skeletal musculature. The neoplasm was closely associated with the vertebrae in all cases. The neoplasm was composed of islands containing small cells with round and occasional spindeloid morphology. Neoplastic cells had basophilic cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei. These cells exhibited immuno-positivity only for vimentin and S-100 protein. Ultrastructurally, neoplastic cells had nuclei with a predominance of euchromatin, cytoplasm containing marked amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum, scant amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and scattered mitochondria. Rudimentary cell junctions were occasionally observed between adjacent neoplastic cells. Based on the close association of these neoplasms with the vertebrae as well as the histologic, ultrastructural, and immunohistochemical findings, these neoplasms were considered to all be primitive neuroectodermal neoplasms.