Spontaneous intranasal tumours in rabbits: 7 cases (2007-2019)

Neoplasms that arise in the nasal cavity are reported infrequently in rabbits. This case series aims to review and determine the clinical behaviour of neoplasms in the nasal cavity in rabbits.

A retrospective study was conducted on seven pet rabbits diagnosed with intranasal tumours to describe the clinical and histopathological findings and prognoses after surgery and/or radiotherapy.

The most common clinical signs were nasal snoring when breathing, nasal discharge, and subsequent dyspnoea and anorexia. Six different histopathological types of tumours were diagnosed: intranasal adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, osteosarcoma, carcinoid tumour, osteoma, and lymphoma. Skull radiography only revealed the abnormalities in three of seven cases but on CT, the intranasal masses were more clearly identified in all cases. All cases received tumour resection through rhinostomy and four cases received radiotherapy after surgery. In the six cases with a known outcome, the survival time after surgery was more than 13 months.

This case series provides an insight of the behavior of intranasal neoplasms in rabbits. Surgical treatment and radiotherapy could improve their clinical sings.