Central nervous system neuroblastoma in a wild deer (Capreolus capreolus)

This report describes a central nervous system (CNS) neuroblastoma in a wild deer (Capreolus capreolus) of approximate age 10 years. The doe was found in a barn with a fractured right forelimb and was shot. The animal was submitted for post-mortem examination in order to exclude rabies. The tumour was located in the midline of the mesencephalon with replacement of thalamus and parts of the hypothalamus and infiltration into the adjacent neuroparenchyma and the right lateral and third ventricles. Microscopically, the neoplastic cells were arranged in sheets and nests forming Homer-Wright- and pseudorosettes. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells expressed neuron-specific enolase, synaptophysin, doublecortin and neurofilament. This is the first report of an infiltrative CNS neuroblastoma in a wild deer.