NEOPLASIA IN CAPTIVE CRANES

Area of Science:

• Avian pathology
• Veterinary oncology
• Wildlife disease surveillance

Background:

• Neoplasia is a significant health concern in avian species.
• Limited large-scale studies exist on neoplasia prevalence and characteristics in cranes (family Gruidae).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence and types of neoplasia in cranes.
• To analyze metastasis rates and affected organ systems.
• To compare neoplasia rates in cranes to other avian species.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of necropsy and histologic reports from 446 cranes across 15 species.
• Data sourced from the International Crane Foundation (ICF) and Northwest ZooPath (NWZP) from 1993-2019.
• Calculation of disease prevalence, metastasis rates, and identification of neoplasm types and affected systems.

Main Results:

• Overall neoplasia prevalence was 7.35% (32/435), with a 31.8% metastasis rate.
• Geriatric cranes were most affected (60%); digestive (27.3%) and urinary (18.2%) systems were most frequently involved.
• Carcinomas (34.0%) were most common; hematopoietic, reproductive, and respiratory tumors showed 100% metastasis.

Conclusions:

• Cranes exhibit a high prevalence of neoplasia but a comparatively low metastasis rate.
• Eurasian, demoiselle, and wattled cranes showed the highest species-specific neoplasia rates.
• This study provides the first large-scale data on neoplasia in cranes, highlighting key pathological features.