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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Establishment and Propagation of Human Retinoblastoma Tumors in Immune Deficient Mice
Published on: August 4, 2011
Retinoblastoma in the eye of a llama (Llama glama)
Michael N Fugaro1, Matti Kiupel, Fabiano Montiani-Ferreira
1Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. michael.fugaro@ag.state.nj.us
Animal Studied:
A 6-year-old, pregnant female llama experienced a 6-month history of epiphora, buphthalmos, and acute loss of vision in the left eye. The condition was unresponsive to topical antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory therapy and progressed to corneal rupture.
Procedures:
Transpalpebral enucleation was performed and an intraorbital silicone prosthesis was implanted. The eye was fixed in formalin and processed according to routine paraffin technique. Sections of a mass were immunohistochemically prepared routinely and stained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S-antigen, and rhodopsin.
Results:
Gross, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical analysis revealed a retinal tumor consistent with a retinoblastoma. The neoplastic tissue formed Flexner-Wintersteiner and Homer-Wright rosettes, originated from the retina, and demonstrated photoreceptor differentiation with S-antigen and rhodopsin expression. Neoplastic cells were negative for GFAP. Four years after enucleation, the llama showed no signs of recurrent neoplasia.
Conclusions:
This report describes the diagnosis and successful treatment of the first known retinoblastoma in a llama.
