Of 1146 caprine necropsy or biopsy specimens submitted from 1987 through 2011 to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University, 100 goats (8.7%) had 102
tumors. Detailed records were available for 89 cases. Fifty-five goats were female, 17 were castrated males, and 12 were intact males. Breeds included 21 Nubian, 16 Pygmy, 10 Pygora, 8 Alpine, 4 Angora, 4 Saanen, 2 Toggenburg, and 9 crossbred goats. Dwarf, Nubian, and Saanen goats were overrepresented and Alpine and Boer goats underrepresented among cases with neoplastic disease in comparison to submissions overall. Age ranged from 7 months to 19 years (median, 7 years). Histopathology was performed on 97
tumors.
Lymphoma (n = 17) was the most common
tumor, followed by cutaneous
squamous cell carcinoma (n = 10) and
thymoma (n = 9). Most
lymphomas were multicentric. All 7
mammary neoplasms were
adenocarcinomas. Five of 7 vascular proliferations were
hemangiosarcomas. All 4 melanocytic
tumors were classified as (
malignant) melanoma. Rarely reported caprine
tumors included a
choroid plexus carcinoma, 2
rhabdomyosarcomas, and 3
pheochromocytomas. Cutaneous round cell
tumors were provisionally diagnosed
as 2 histiocytomas and 5 mast cell
tumors. Single cases of previously unreported caprine
tumors included
amyloid-producing
odontogenic tumor,
myxosarcoma, sebaceous
carcinoma, apocrine
sweat gland adenoma, and
thyroid carcinoma. Nonneoplastic entities included 2 cases of mammary fibroadenomatous
hyperplasia and single cases of vascular
hamartoma, cervical adenomatous
hyperplasia, and cervical leiomyofibromatosis. The results of this 25-year retrospective study indicate that
lymphoma in particular and
tumors in general are common in goats.