Metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder in a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica)

A 15‐year‐old spayed female Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was presented with a short history of haematuria and dysuria, non‐responsive to antibiotics, and a gradual decline to inappetence over a period of 2–3 months. Ultrasound examination showed a thickened urinary bladder wall and the renal pelvis of right kidney was dilated and cystic. A presumptive diagnosis of renal failure was made, and the tigress was euthanised due to deteriorating quality of life and pronounced weight loss. Histopathology revealed extensive erosion of the urinary bladder wall and marked congestion of the submucosal vasculature, a potential cause of the haematuria observed clinically. Numerous foci of neoplastic cells were also observed throughout the lung parenchyma as well as within lymphatic vessels of the lung, the liver and the kidney. A diagnosis of a metastatic non‐papillary high‐grade urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the urinary bladder was made. Consistent with this diagnosis, immunohistochemistry revealed the neoplastic cells were negative for uroplakin III, as has been reported for a subset of high‐grade, infiltrative urinary bladder UCs of canines and humans. This is the first report of a primary tumour of the urinary bladder in a tiger and the first report of UC in a tiger.