Melanoma in horses: distribution by sex, age, nationality, and slaughterhouse findings in 28 horses from Northern Italy.
Abstract: Melanomas are dermal-epidermal and subcutaneous tumors commonly found in horses, especially those with grey coats. This study aimed to characterize melanomas in slaughtered horses by analyzing their distribution according to sex, age, and nationality, and to describe the veterinary inspection interventions required at slaughterhouses based on lymph node involvement and distant metastases in a province of northern Italy. Between January and December 2024, 182 grey horses were examined, and 28 cases of melanoma were identified (15% of grey horses) with an average age of 14 years: 8 males (mean age 13 years) and 20 females (mean age 15 years). The nationalities represented were 21 French, 2 Hungarian, 2 Italian, 2 Slovenian, and 1 Polish. The most commonly affected sites were the base of the tail and perineal area (26 cases), followed by the cardiac muscle, and trachea. Nineteen cases were classified as dermal melanomas, 5 as melanocytomas, 2 as anaplastic melanomas, and 2 as noncutaneous melanomas; 2 had lymph node metastases, 14 localized lesions, and 12 distant metastases. Eighteen horses underwent tumor removal with carcass trimming, while 10 required complete carcass condemnation. This study provides information on the clinical behavior of melanomas in slaughtered horses and the interventions required for meat processing during postmortem inspection in slaughterhouses.
© 2025. The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2025-10-29 PubMed ID: 41160171PubMed Central: PMC12572050DOI: 10.1007/s11259-025-10921-7Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Cite This Article
APA
Muresu Ibba GM, Poeta A, De Lorenzi G, Pupillo G, D'Annunzio G, Pezzarossi A, Bisceglia I, Mangone L.
(2025).
Melanoma in horses: distribution by sex, age, nationality, and slaughterhouse findings in 28 horses from Northern Italy.
Vet Res Commun, 50(1), 12.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-025-10921-7 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Veterinary Service, Department of Prevention, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Veterinary Service, Department of Prevention, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia- Romagna-Reggio Emilia Section, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia- Romagna-Reggio Emilia Section, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia- Romagna-Modena Section, Modena, Italy.
- Epidemiology Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Epidemiology Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
- Epidemiology Unit, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy. lucia.mangone@ausl.re.it.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses
- Melanoma / veterinary
- Melanoma / epidemiology
- Melanoma / pathology
- Female
- Male
- Italy / epidemiology
- Abattoirs
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Skin Neoplasms / veterinary
- Skin Neoplasms / epidemiology
- Skin Neoplasms / pathology
- Age Factors
- Sex Factors
- Lymphatic Metastasis
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declarations. Ethics statement: Not applicable. Informed consent statement: Not applicable. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
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