Spontaneous neoplasia in the baboon (Papio spp.)

Abstract

Background: There are several comprehensive reviews of spontaneous neoplasia in non-human primates that compile individual cases or small numbers of cases, but do not provide statistical analysis of tumor incidence, demographics, or epidemiology.

Methods: This paper reports all spontaneous neoplasms (n = 363) diagnosed over a 15-year period in a baboon colony with an average annual colony population of 4000.

Results: A total of 363 spontaneous neoplasms were diagnosed in 313 baboons: 77 cases were males (25%) and 236 were females (75%); ages ranged from 1 month to 33 years (mean 16.5, median 17).

Conclusions: The organ systems affected in descending order of number of neoplasms were hematopoietic organs (n = 101, 28%), urogenital tract (n = 78, 21%), integument (n = 43, 12%), alimentary tract (n = 43, 12%), endocrine organs (n = 40, 11%), nervous system (n = 33, 9%), musculoskeletal system (n = 5, 1%), and respiratory system (n = 4, 1%). Malignant cases numbered 171 (47%); 192 (53%) cases were benign.