Radiation therapy for the treatment of thymoma in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The article presents 3 clinical cases of thymoma in rabbits. The diagnosis of thymoma was made in these cases by combining the resulting of the case history, the physical examination, the blood work, the thoracic and abdominal imaging and the fine needle aspiration of the mass in 2 cases and a biopsy in 1 case. Palliative radiation treatment was elected in all 3 cases. 24 Gy were given in 3 fractions at 8 Gy on day 0, 7 and 21. In all cases the clinical signs and the quality of life significantly improved. Two cases were followed for 6 months post-treatment and no complications or recurrence of the clinical signs were noted, unfortunately the patients were lost for follow up examinations. One case is still in remission at 16 months post-treatment. Copyright 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.