Hepatic cellular carcinoma in a dwarf pet rat: a case study

Abstract

Rats are becoming more popular as pets and understanding them as patients is essential. They are known to be prone to tumors, but liver tumors in rats are considered very rare and literature is scarce. This case study documents the pathological findings of a dyspneic dwarf pet rat with nodular liver masses. One lesion from the left liver lobe as well as two lesions from the lungs and one lesion from the bile duct were analyzed. Histopathology and immunochemistry findings were consistent with a spontaneous grade IV solid hepatocellular carcinoma, and a possible hepatic stellate cell proliferation.