Two variants of uterine leiomyoma in Malaysia's last Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

Annas Salleh, Salleh A, Zainal Zahari Zainuddin, Zainuddin ZZ, Mohamed Tarmizi MR, Mohamed Reza Mohamed Tarmizi, Keng Chee Yap, Yap KC, Zamri-Saad M, Mohd Zamri-Saad
The veterinary quarterly · 2020 · vol. 40(1) , pp. 250–257 · doi:10.1080/01652176.2020.1836431 · PMID:33045934 · PMC7594725
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This veterinary report describes the first documented cases of epithelioid and myxoid leiomyoma variants in a Sumatran rhinoceros, detailing their histological characteristics alongside concurrent pyometra and cystic endometrial hyperplasia.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by qwen3.7-flash, 2026-09-06 · read from full text ⓘ

This case report describes the postmortem findings of two distinct uterine leiomyoma variants in a Sumatran rhinoceros that died at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Malaysia. The authors utilized ultrasonographic imaging during the animal's life and histopathological analysis after death to characterize these benign smooth muscle tumors within the uterus. The study highlights the rarity of such reproductive pathologies in this critically endangered species, providing diagnostic insights for veterinary wildlife medicine. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Following its capture in March 2014, an adult female Sumatran rhinoceros frequently showed profuse vaginal bleeding. An ultrasonography suggested the presence of multiple reproductive lesions, including two uterine masses which were suspected to be leiomyomas. Soon after, an open pyometra was confirmed. Later in November 2019, the patient died and necropsy confirmed the presence of two uterine masses; one was located at the cervico-uterine junction and another in the uterine body, with pyometra, and cystic endometrial hyerplasia. Based on histological, special stains, and immunohistochemical examination, it was shown that one of the masses was composed of large, ovoid and polyhedral neoplastic mesenchymal cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and a few binucleated cells surrounded by collagen fibres. It was tested positive for SMA and vimentin, while negative for desmin, cytokeratin AE1/AE3, EMA, CD34, and S100. The other mass was composed of mesenchymal cells undergoing myxoid degeneration as evidenced by the presence of glycosaminoglycan-rich matrix. It was tested positive for SMA, vimentin, partially positive for desmin, and negative for the other markers. With the aid of human medical nomenclature, these masses were diagnosed as epithelioid leiomyoma and myxoid leiomyoma, respectively. This report provides a clinical presentation, and histologic descriptions of the two variants of leiomyomas that have not been reported in veterinary medicine.
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Ack

We would like to thank the staff of Borneo Rhino Alliance, especially the rhinoceros keepers and field staff for attending to the rhinoceros during its stay in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Dr. John Payne, and Professor Abdul Hamid Ahmad for their technical support. We also thank the veterinarians at Sabah Wildlife Department for their assistances. The Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany, particularly Professor Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, had provided additional inputs on the ultrasonograhic diagnosis of the uterine pathology. We thank Professor Chian Ren Jeng from School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, for his opinion on the immunohistochemistry.

Funding

The Borneo Rhino Sanctuary project was funded by the Federal Government of Malaysia, State Government of Sabah, and Sime Darby Foundation.

Disclosure

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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MeSH descriptors

Leiomyoma Perissodactyla Uterine Neoplasms Animals Borneo Diagnosis, Differential Fatal Outcome Female Leiomyoma Leiomyoma Malaysia Uterine Neoplasms Uterine Neoplasms

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