>I just had a ferret operated on that had typical adrenal symptoms.  The
>vet removed what she thought was a large right adrenal tumor.  The path
>report came back as a Leiomyosarcoma.  After looking that up and realizing
>that it is a Smooth Muscle Tumor (hope I got that right), I realized that
>another vet I went to mentioned that he has had two cases of the same
>thing recently.
>
>My questions are: What does this mean for the ferret as far as the
>adrenal symptoms?  Is this what was causing the problem or should I still
>expect the ferret to have adrenal troubles?  What is the long term
>prognosis of such a tumor?  Also, should I be worried that the two vets I
>use have mistaken these Smooth Muscle Tumors for Adrenal tumors?  I
>realize they are tumors that needed to come out, just wondering if it
>should have been obvious that this wasn't an adrenal?
 
Dear XX - you are correct in that leiomyosarcomas are malignancies of
smooth muscle.  These are occasionally seen in the endocrine,
gastrointestinal, and reproductive organs, and the adrenal gland is
probably the most common site overall.
 
These tumors are not responsible for the adrenal signs which you noticed,
but they may occur coincidentally with a functional adrenocortical tumor.
And, due to their often fairly large size, they may often be the only
tumor seen when the adrenal is sectioned, although there may be another
tumor in their causing the signs.  Or, as occasionally happens, the vet's
attention is drawn to these large, non-functional tumors, and they may
miss the functional adrenal tumor on the other adrenal.
 
The good news is that these neoplasms, although they are technically
malignant, really do not metastasize or result in life-threatening
illness.  Surgical excision should be considered curative.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3555]