Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma in a Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) Stranded on Thyrrhenian Sea Coast.

An adult male striped dolphin was found stranded on the Tyrrhenian coast of Belvedere Marittimo (Cosenza, Italy). The animal was multi-parasitized and post-mortem examination revealed a focal extensive white soft lesion with poorly defined margins on the caudal portion of the left lung. The tributary lymph node had similar multifocal lesions in the cortex and medulla. Histological analysis exhibited the presence of lung carcinoma with lymph node metastasis. Immunohistochemical examination allowed the characterization of the epithelial neoplasm as a bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. It appears to be the first case of lung cancer recorded in this species.