Veterinary case
Skin melanoma spreads through a rabbit's body
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
A small black lump on a rabbit's ear was removed, then it came back everywhere: a story with a sad ending.
What happened?
This 5-year-old rabbit had ongoing dental problems and needed regular vet visits to trim its incisors. Around the age of 3, its owners noticed a small black lump at the base of the left ear. About 14 months later, this lump was surgically removed at another clinic, with no laboratory testing done. A few months after that, several new masses appeared on the rabbit's face and chest, and it was referred to our clinic.
What did the vet find?
On arrival, the rabbit was in poor general condition: it had lost weight, was very lethargic and inactive. The vet found several irregular black masses on the nose, eyelid, cheek and chest, some with broken, ulcerated skin. Given how fast the disease was progressing and the poor overall condition, the vet suspected the internal organs were affected too. The examination after euthanasia confirmed a malignant melanoma, with aggressive cells that had spread to the lungs, where several black nodules were found.
What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
The first mass on the ear had been surgically removed, but without any testing to find out what it really was. When the rabbit arrived at our clinic with several new masses and a very weak overall condition, no further tests were done because the disease already seemed very advanced. Given the severity of the situation, the team chose humane euthanasia out of concern for the animal's welfare.
What happened next?
Despite the initial surgery, the disease came back very quickly and spread to the face, chest and lungs. The examination after euthanasia confirmed this was a highly aggressive melanoma that had likely already spread through the body at the time of surgery. This case shows that this type of tumor can progress very fast even with early surgical treatment.
Advice for the farmer
If a small black lump appears on a rabbit's skin, especially in an older animal, it is best to send it for laboratory testing as soon as it is removed rather than waiting, since this type of tumor can spread silently.
Source
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Title
- Cutaneous Melanoma in a Rabbit With Multiple Metastatic Lesions: A Case Report.
- Authors
- Rostami A, Aminianfar H, Zarifian N, Samiee N, Rahmanifar A, Behniapour T.
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1155/crve/8573115
- Licence
- CC BY
