Improved Equine Ovarian Tumour diagnosis test available
A new test that provides equine veterinary surgeons with another way to diagnose Granulosa Cell Tumours (GCTs), which are the type of tumour most frequently found in the equine reproductive tract, has been developed. Professor Barry A. Ball, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACT, Albert G. Clay Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center presented the new method to the 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, which was held on November 18th-22nd 2011 in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Prof. Ball's new method involves the measurement of the level of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in the blood after the discovery that GCTs produce the hormone in significant quantities. A study undertaken by Prof. Ball and colleagues determined that AMH levels in blood samples taken from mares with GCTs were significantly higher than those in samples taken from mares that had undergone an ovariectomy, those in estrus and those that were pregnant.
"This study confirms that AMH is considerably higher in mares with GCTs than all other healthy mares regardless of their reproductive status and that measuring AMH levels is a useful test for GCTs," concluded Prof. Ball. The AMH test is currently available in the form of a human assay, and Prof. Ball has confirmed that more economical tests are also currently in development.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
