Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization

Mammary tumors occur in female and male guinea pigs. However, published data on their histology and sex predispositions are limited. Histologically, we examined proliferative mammary lesions of 69 female and 48 male pet guinea pigs. Lobular hyperplasia was observed only in females (<i>n</i&...

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Main Authors: Sandra Schöniger, Claudia Schandelmaier, Heike Aupperle-Lellbach, Christina Koppel, Qian Zhang, Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Animals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1573
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author Sandra Schöniger
Claudia Schandelmaier
Heike Aupperle-Lellbach
Christina Koppel
Qian Zhang
Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus
author_facet Sandra Schöniger
Claudia Schandelmaier
Heike Aupperle-Lellbach
Christina Koppel
Qian Zhang
Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus
author_sort Sandra Schöniger
collection DOAJ
description Mammary tumors occur in female and male guinea pigs. However, published data on their histology and sex predispositions are limited. Histologically, we examined proliferative mammary lesions of 69 female and 48 male pet guinea pigs. Lobular hyperplasia was observed only in females (<i>n</i> = 50). Benign tumors included simple adenomas (<i>n</i> = 20), adenolipomas (<i>n</i> = 3) and intraductal papillary adenomas (<i>n</i> = 5). All except two intraductal papillary adenomas occurred in females. Most malignancies were tubulopapillary and solid carcinomas (<i>n</i> = 54), and intraductal papillary carcinomas (<i>n</i> = 13). These were diagnosed more frequently in male (<i>n</i> = 41) than in female (<i>n</i> = 26) guinea pigs. The carcinomas of males had higher mitotic counts than those of females (<i>p</i> = 0.05). Three carcinosarcomas developed in adenolipoma, and one arose in adenoma. Results show that the mammary tumor classification of dogs and cats can be applied to guinea pigs. However, some tumors (adenolipoma, metaplastic carcinoma) are unique to guinea pigs and shared with laboratory rodents and humans, respectively. Benign tumors may undergo malignant progression. Male guinea pigs appear predisposed to ductal-associated and malignant tumors. Data suggest that male guinea pigs represent an animal model for human male breast cancer.
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spelling doaj-art-db60815e52204381b2b85cc52a8d95e52025-08-20T02:23:08ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-05-011511157310.3390/ani15111573Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical CharacterizationSandra Schöniger0Claudia Schandelmaier1Heike Aupperle-Lellbach2Christina Koppel3Qian Zhang4Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus5Discovery Life Sciences Biomarker Services GmbH, Germaniastrasse 7, 34119 Kassel, GermanyLaboklin GmbH & Co. KG, Laboratory for Clinical Diagnostics, 97688 Bad Kissingen, GermanyLaboklin GmbH & Co. KG, Laboratory for Clinical Diagnostics, 97688 Bad Kissingen, GermanyDiscovery Life Sciences Biomarker Services GmbH, Germaniastrasse 7, 34119 Kassel, GermanyInstitute of Anatomy, Experimental Neurobiology, Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, GermanyDiscovery Life Sciences Biomarker Services GmbH, Germaniastrasse 7, 34119 Kassel, GermanyMammary tumors occur in female and male guinea pigs. However, published data on their histology and sex predispositions are limited. Histologically, we examined proliferative mammary lesions of 69 female and 48 male pet guinea pigs. Lobular hyperplasia was observed only in females (<i>n</i> = 50). Benign tumors included simple adenomas (<i>n</i> = 20), adenolipomas (<i>n</i> = 3) and intraductal papillary adenomas (<i>n</i> = 5). All except two intraductal papillary adenomas occurred in females. Most malignancies were tubulopapillary and solid carcinomas (<i>n</i> = 54), and intraductal papillary carcinomas (<i>n</i> = 13). These were diagnosed more frequently in male (<i>n</i> = 41) than in female (<i>n</i> = 26) guinea pigs. The carcinomas of males had higher mitotic counts than those of females (<i>p</i> = 0.05). Three carcinosarcomas developed in adenolipoma, and one arose in adenoma. Results show that the mammary tumor classification of dogs and cats can be applied to guinea pigs. However, some tumors (adenolipoma, metaplastic carcinoma) are unique to guinea pigs and shared with laboratory rodents and humans, respectively. Benign tumors may undergo malignant progression. Male guinea pigs appear predisposed to ductal-associated and malignant tumors. Data suggest that male guinea pigs represent an animal model for human male breast cancer.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1573<i>Cavia porcellus</i>guinea pigpetproliferative mammary lesionsmammary tumorshistopathology
spellingShingle Sandra Schöniger
Claudia Schandelmaier
Heike Aupperle-Lellbach
Christina Koppel
Qian Zhang
Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus
Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
Animals
<i>Cavia porcellus</i>
guinea pig
pet
proliferative mammary lesions
mammary tumors
histopathology
title Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
title_full Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
title_fullStr Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
title_full_unstemmed Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
title_short Neoplastic and Non-Neoplastic Proliferative Mammary Gland Lesions in Female and Male Guinea Pigs: Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization
title_sort neoplastic and non neoplastic proliferative mammary gland lesions in female and male guinea pigs histological and immunohistochemical characterization
topic <i>Cavia porcellus</i>
guinea pig
pet
proliferative mammary lesions
mammary tumors
histopathology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/11/1573
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