Jaguar at Phoenix Zoo receives advanced treatment for tumor

PHOENIX — To help get rid of a cancerous tumor on Caipora, the 12-year-old Jaguar, the Phoenix Zoo used an advanced method usually used by humans at battling the mass.

The tumor was found on her right hind leg during a recent physical examination of the big cat. After a microscopic diagnosis of the mass, it was found to be a fibrosarcoma tumor, which is very aggressive and usually found in house cats, not Jaguars.

With common practice being to remove the leg completely, the veterinarians at the Phoenix Zoo knew that was not an option for Caipora and came together to find an alternative method — focused radiation therapy.

“We anesthetized Caipora and took her to this facility where she had some CT planning done and immediately following we were actually able to treat the tumor site with radiation therapy,” Phoenix Zoo veterinarian Kristen Phair said. “Our hope is the one-time radiation treatment will be curative.”

Using 3-D mapping to precisely target the tumor from all angles and adjust the radiation automatically, the therapy takes less time and less surgeries, which means less anesthesia — and stress — for Caipora.

And while the method is unique for a Jaguar, it’s not too far off from human treatments.

“The majority of what we utilize in veterinarian medicine has its foundation in human medicine,” Phair said. “It usually just takes longer to get in the veterinarian field and it also takes longer to make the adaptations that are necessary for animal use.”

She is in the early stages of recovery, but Caipora seems to be doing well. She does have some hair loss where the treatment took place and has been licking the area, but overall she is doing fine, Phair said.

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