Two cases of cutaneous T cell lymphoma in Friesian cows in the Azores

This paper presents two cases of cutaneous neoplasia in Friesian cows, on the island of S. Miguel, Azores. The lesions consisted of raised pink plaques, with no pruritus or signs of associated pain, that were extensively distributed over both lateral and ventral body surfaces. The histological examination of the material obtained by skin biopsy or post-mortem suggested a T cell lymphoma with extensive epidermal infiltration. The lymph nodes showed extensive invasion by tumour cells. The results of immunocytochemistry, which were the same for the tumour cells in the skin and in the lymph node, were positive for CD3, confirming the T cell origin of the tumour cells. It was concluded that these were cases of T cell lymphoma, involving both skin and lymph nodes. Although there have been other reports of cutaneous lymphosarcoma in the literature, these are the first cases identified in the Azores.