668 



Cancer Research 



of the thyroid. The salmon was collected and described 

 for Gilnith by U. C. Wilkie, the 3 trout by L. F. Cryson. 



Plehn, 1902: A preliminary report on "adenocar- 

 cinoma" of the thyroid in trouL The author discusses 

 the normal anatomy of the gland in fishes and likens 

 the pathologic changes in her specimens to adenocar- 

 cinomas of the thyroid in mammals. 



Pick, 1905: The fishes studied by Pick had been 

 bred in American hsh hatcheries, and sent to him in 

 Germany. Despite the variability of the histologic find- 

 ings, Pick thought that the growths were unmistakable 

 epitheliomas. He believed that primary simple endemic 

 goiter undergoes a malignant transformation in conse- 

 quence of some external deleterious influences. 



Jaboulav, 1908: Six trout died following develop- 

 ment of a malignant tumor of the thyroid. The author 

 identified the tumors as adenocarcinomas that had in- 

 vaded the surrounding tissues. He implicated hereditary 

 factors as well as a contagious etiologic agent. The 

 former opinion be supported by the fact that fish raised 

 from eggs sent out of Germany suffered from the dis- 

 ease, whereas native trout under similar conditions 

 remained well Jaboulay believed that the infectious 

 agent was a myxosporidium present in the water and 

 taken into the digestive tract. 



Smith, 1909: A large tumor of the thyroid gland 

 in a lake trout SaJmo lacustris, was histologically a car- 

 cinoma of the alveolar t>i)e, not distinguishable from 

 similar tissue of human origin. 



Cameron and Vi.nce.nt, 1915: The authors found 

 a thyroid tumor in a dog fish Squalus sucklii which 

 they considered histologically similar to those re- 

 ported by Marine and Gaylord in trout. They pointed 

 out that whereas in teleosts the thyroid is scattered and 

 not encapsulated, in elasmobranch fishes it is definitely 

 encapsulated and forms a compact organ. This point 

 gives significance to their finding of invasion into the 

 surrounding tissues. A quoted report by Adami sug- 

 gests that histologically their specimen is a carcinoma. 



ScHKEiTMiJLLER, 1924: The author described what 

 he considered were examples of malignant neoplasia 

 of the thyroid in Jordanella floridae and other oviparous 

 and viviparous toothed carp, in barbels, and in a catfish 

 (cited by RIemm). 



Johnstone, 1924: On the floor of the mouth of a 

 porgy Box vulgaris on each side of the midline and 

 in the region of the thyroid was a 2.5 x 1.3 cm. tumor 

 which had lifted the operculum on that side. His- 

 tologically there were numerous large acini filled with 

 coOoid and lined by tall columnar cells. 



L4CCRR, 1925: Thyroid tumors were found in rain- 

 bow trout Saimo gmrdnerii at a hatchery in Grenoble. 

 Leger states that most of them are adenomas, a few are 

 adenocarcinomas, and he presents an example of the 

 Utter which had metastasized to the heart. 



KucMM. 1927: Tropical aquarium fish of the spe- 

 dei Baptockiius chaperi (an oviparous toothed carp) 

 appeared unwell when they had attained a length of 1.5 

 to 2 an. Examination revealed that the opercula were 

 lifted and breathing was rapid. On the pharynx a 



reddened, hemispherical mass could be seen, 2.5 to 3 

 mm. in diameter, having the hbtologic characteristics 

 of a colloid goiter. A similar lesion was found in a 

 specimen of Danio albolineatus. 



Pevron and Thomas, 1930: The authors review 

 the problem of thyroid tumors in fishes, especially the 

 Salmonidae. Though inconclusive, they seem to favor 

 the view that most are malignant neoplasms and include 

 two cases of their own : one in a salrnon, the other in a 

 trout, and both typical of the many other goiters de- 

 scribed in the literature. 



Smith, Coates and Strong, 1936: These authors 

 observed thyroid hyperplasia in 2 species of tropical 

 aquarium fishes Rasbora latcristriata and Heterandria 

 formosa. They believed that the tumors are benign 

 adenomas; the discussion is brief. 



Smith and Coates, 1937: The authors present a 

 detailed morphologic study of the normal and hyper- 

 plastic thyroid in a tropical aquarium fish Rasbora 

 lateristriata that reaches a length of 3 cm. In the hyper- 

 plastic gland there is a great irregularity in the size and 

 an increase in the number of follicles. Cro.^s sections 

 of the normal gland reveal not more than 10 follicles, 

 whereas in the thyroid tumor these may number 3,000. 

 Scattered collections of lymphoid cells were not un- 

 common in the tumor which also showed increased vas- 

 cularity. It infiltrated the adjacent muscle, cartilage, 

 and bone. The disease was usually fatal in two months, 

 as the tumor destroyed and replaced the gill structures. 



TUMORS OF MESENCHYMAL TISSUES 



In this group are included: fibroma, myxoma, 

 chondroma, osteoma, lipoma, leiomyoma, rhabdomy- 

 oma, hemangioma, ostco-sarcoma, lymphosarcoma, 

 and sarcomas not further classified. 



FIBROMA 



The most common neoplasms of the supporting 

 tissues of fishes are the benign and malignant tu- 

 mors of the connective tissue proper. Fibroma has 

 been reported in 18 species (Table 7). The subcu- 

 taneous tissue and trunk musculature are most fre- 

 quently involved; however, fibromas have been 

 found in the oral cavity, peritoneum, stomach and 

 esophagus, Guglianetti (67) reported a slow grow- 

 ing retro-orbital tumor in a goldfish Carassius aura- 

 tus that was under observation for 3 years. The 

 right eyeball protruded, the pupil was greatly di- 

 lated, and the lens opaque. The tumor measured 

 3.5 cm. in diameter, was elastic and rather soft in 

 consistency. Hbtologically the growth consisted of 

 connective tissue that was rich in nuclei and con- 

 tained several areas of necrosis. 



Subcutaneous fibromas in goldfish have been 

 described by several authors (45, 175, 226). They 

 were often multiple and in one instance (226) in- 

 volved several fishes in the same pool. An infectious 



