Tumours in European Shorthair cats: a retrospective study of 680 cases.

OBJECTIVES: Naturally occurring tumours in domestic cats are less common than in dogs and represent the leading cause of death among older animals. The main objective of this study was to analyse a large data set of histologically diagnosed tumours to highlight the most common World Health Organization (WHO) tumour histotypes, the effect of age and sex, and the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) topographical site predilections of feline breed-specific tumours. METHODS: A total of 680 feline tumours diagnosed in European Shorthair cats by three veterinary diagnostic laboratories located in central Italy from 2013 to 2019 were collected. Data on age, sex and topography of lesions were recorded. Samples were morphologically and topographically coded using the WHO and the ICD-O-3 classification system. RESULTS: Skin and soft tissue neoplasms comprised 55.9% of all tumours, followed by mammary gland (11%), alimentary tract (7.9%), oral cavity and tongue (7.3%), nasal cavity and middle ear (6%), lymph node (3.1%), bone (1.8%) and liver/intrahepatic bile duct (1.3%) tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), sarcoma, lymphoma and basal cell tumours were the most diagnosed neoplasms. Malignant tumours were 82.9% of the total and the topographical sites mainly involved were skin (C44), connective/subcutaneous/other soft tissues (C49), mammary gland (C50), small intestine (C17), nasal cavity and middle ear (C30), and gum (C03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study aimed to provide an in-depth evaluation of spontaneous feline tumours in the European Shorthair cat breed. Results identify SCC as the most commonly represented skin neoplasm. It is likely that the analysed feline population, living in southern latitudes, was more subject to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, explaining the discrepancy with previous studies in which SCC was less represented.

Dietary Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 Positively Affects Performance and Intestinal Ecosystem in Broilers during a Campylobacter jejuni Infection.

In poultry production, probiotics have shown promise to limit campylobacteriosis at the farm level, the most commonly reported zoonosis in Europe. The aim of this trial was to evaluate the effects of Saccharomyces supplementation in Campylobacter jejuni challenged chickens on performance and intestinal ecosystem. A total of 156 day old male Ross 308 chicks were assigned to a basal control diet (C) or to a Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 supplemented diet (S). All the birds were orally challenged with C. jejuni on day (d) 21. Live weight and growth performance were evaluated on days 1, 21, 28 and 40. The histology of intestinal mucosa was analyzed and the gut microbiota composition was assessed by 16S rRNA. Performance throughout the trial as well as villi length and crypt depth were positively influenced by yeast supplementation. A higher abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) annotated as Lactobacillus reuteri and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and a lower abundance of Campylobacter in fecal samples from S compared to the C group were reported. Supplementation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii can effectively modulate the intestinal ecosystem, leading to a higher abundance of beneficial microorganisms and modifying the intestinal mucosa architecture, with a subsequent improvement of the broilers' growth performance.