Equine Veterinary Hospital Jühnde, Jühnde, Germany.
Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine ISME, University of Berne, Agroscope, Avenches, Switzerland.
Equine Vet J. 2021 Jul;53(4):740-745. doi: 10.1111/evj.13352. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
Stallion-like or aggressive behaviour in mares affected by unilateral granulosa theca cell tumour (GTCT) is well-known, but use of a GnRH-vaccine as an alternative to surgical removal of the neoplastic ovary has not been investigated.
To determine the effect of immunisation against GnRH on ovarian size, testosterone concentration, Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration, and owner-reported behaviour in four mares affected by unilateral GTCT.
Retrospective case report.
A presumptive diagnosis of GTCT was made in four mares based on clinical signs, behavioural changes, transrectal palpation, and ultrasonography. All mares were vaccinated twice with the GnRH-vaccine Improvac® on day 0 and on day 13-33. Further booster vaccinations were administered if aggressive behaviour recurred between days 15 and 498. Before and parallel to the vaccinations, serum levels of oestradiol, progesterone (P4), testosterone, and AMH were evaluated and transrectal ultrasonography was performed.
In all horses, analysis of serum levels of oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and AMH confirmed the clinical diagnosis of GTCT. Serum levels of testosterone dropped to baseline levels following the first two of three vaccination in all mares. In addition, AMH serum values decreased shortly after the second vaccination in three of four mares, and in one of the four mares returned to baseline levels. No further GTCT linked behaviour was reported by the owners and the affected ovaries diminished in size in all four cases.
This report is a case series with a limited number of animals, no controls and no standardised immunisation protocol.
Repeated vaccinations with the GnRH-vaccine Improvac® mitigated owner-reported behavioural abnormalities and stopped tumour growth in four mares affected by unilateral GTCT over the entire observation period which extends to 7 years in one mare.
单侧颗粒细胞瘤（GTCT）患马通常会出现种公马样或攻击性行为，但尚未研究使用 GnRH 疫苗作为切除肿瘤卵巢的替代方法。
确定针对 GnRH 的免疫接种对 4 匹单侧 GTCT 患马的卵巢大小、睾酮浓度、抗苗勒氏管激素（AMH）浓度和主人报告行为的影响。
回顾性病例报告。
根据临床症状、行为变化、直肠触诊和超声检查，对 4 匹母马疑似 GTCT 进行诊断。所有母马均在第 0 天和第 13-33 天接受 Improvac® GnRH 疫苗两次接种。如果在第 15-498 天之间再次出现攻击性行为，则进行进一步的加强接种。在接种前后，评估血清雌二醇、孕酮（P4）、睾酮和 AMH 水平，并进行直肠超声检查。
所有马匹的血清雌二醇、孕酮、睾酮和 AMH 分析均证实了 GTCT 的临床诊断。在前两次接种后，所有马的睾酮血清水平均降至基线水平。此外，在 4 匹母马中的 3 匹，第二次接种后 AMH 血清值短暂下降，其中 1 匹母马的 AMH 血清值恢复到基线水平。主人未再报告与 GTCT 相关的行为，并且所有 4 例受影响的卵巢在大小上均有所缩小。
本报告为病例系列研究，动物数量有限，无对照组，无标准化免疫接种方案。
在 4 匹单侧 GTCT 患马中，重复使用 GnRH 疫苗 Improvac® 减轻了主人报告的行为异常，并阻止了肿瘤生长，整个观察期为 7 年，其中 1 匹马持续了 7 年。
