Bird Cancer

What kinds of cancers do pet birds get? Many types of tumors have been diagnosed in pet birds, including tumors of the skin and internal organs. Budgerigars seem to be one species of bird that is very prone to cancer. Probably the most common malignancy diagnosed is an internal tumor of either the kidney or gonad (ovary or testicle). As the tumor grows, often the first sign of trouble is lameness of one leg. This occurs because the tumor often impinges on the nerves to the leg on that side, resulting in lameness. Eventually, the abdomen may become distended, either because the tumor continues growing, or because fluid accumulates in the abdomen. Some tumors of the testicle or ovary produce hormones opposite of the sex of the bird, so a male budgie may develop a brown cere (the normal adult color of most male budgies is blue), or a female budgie that normally has a brown cere may suddenly develop a blue cere.
A male budgie patient of mine (with a beautiful, deep blue cere), named Fax, developed a testicular tumor that produced female hormones. His cere went from blue to tan in a short period of time. My client did not want to put him through a major surgery, and he went on to live for another year and a half before succumbing to his cancer.
Ovarian carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are types of cancer that can be very dangerous, as surgical removal of the entire mass is difficult, if not impossible, as the ovary is closely associated with large blood vessels. For this reason, the cancer may reoccur after surgical removal. Clinical signs may include abdominal distension, fluid build-up in the abdomen, breathing problems, weakness or paralysis of the left leg and a visible or palpable mass in the abdomen. Hens may also develop cancer of the oviduct. If caught in time, it might be possible to remove the oviduct with the malignancy, however, these tumors often metastasize to the surfaces of other internal organs. Just about the worst tumor that I have ever seen was one that developed in the oviduct of a Hyacinth macaw that actually eroded through the body wall and bulged out in the area of the hip on the left side. By this time, the tumor was inoperable, unfortunately.
Tumors involving the kidney may cause signs of increased urination and concomitant increased thirst and advanced tumors may result in gout formation.
Unfortunately, these types of tumors are often not detected until the mass has grown to a size making surgery risky. Some tumors will have invaded surrounding tissues and organs, making complete excision impossible and other tumors may have already traveled to other organs, called metastasis, which means that the bird will not be cured.
When dealing with tumors, in some cases, complete surgical removal is curative. However, there is always a concern that a tumor might have already spread to other organs, so additional tests might be necessary, including radiographs (x-rays), MRIs or CT scans, to ascertain if any suspicious masses are present elsewhere in the body. When dealing with a malignant tumor on a limb, it is often best to amputate the limb to try to prevent problems with cancer reoccurring in the future. While this may seem like a drastic measure, birds adapt very well to the loss of a limb (or partial limb).
With some cancers, in addition to surgical excision of the mass, chemotherapy or radiation therapy may also be warranted. There are some quite sophisticated treatments and procedures that are now available for avian patients with cancer, however these may only be available at referral centers, veterinary colleges and specialty centers.
As with other species, cancer rates increase as avian patients age. Since avian medicine has dramatically improved the quality of life for many birds, and birds are living longer lives, we can expect that we will see more cases of avian cancer in older birds, however it is not unusual to see some types of cancer in budgies and other small birds that are as young as four or five years of age.