Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rescue chemotherapy for cats with relapsed lymphoma
By Elliott, J. & Finotello, R.·Published in Veterinary and Comparative Oncology·2017·Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service Solihull UK, United Kingdom·View original on Crossref →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A dexamethasone, melphalan, actinomycin‐D and cytarabine chemotherapy protocol as a rescue treatment for feline lymphoma
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Nineteen cats with relapsed high-grade lymphoma were treated with a combination of medications (dexamethasone, melphalan, actinomycin-D, and cytarabine) after their initial treatments failed. Out of these cats, five showed some improvement in their symptoms or tumor size, but most only received two cycles of this new chemotherapy. While many tolerated the treatment well, a few experienced serious side effects like low white blood cell and platelet counts. Overall, the cats had a short time of about two weeks before their condition progressed again, highlighting the need for better treatment options for this serious illness.
People also search for: cat lymphoma treatment options · feline chemotherapy side effects · why is my cat losing weight and vomiting
Abstract
Nineteen cats with relapsed high‐grade/large‐cell lymphoma were treated with dexamethasone, melphalan, actinomycin‐D and cytarabine (DMAC). All cats had received Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, Prednisolone (COP) as first‐line chemotherapy and most cats had received at least 2 prior rescue agents with 14 of 19 having received both epirubicin and lomustine. Five cats (26%) exhibited a response (defined as an improvement or resolution of tumour‐associated clinical signs/tumour volume, or complete/partial response) to chemotherapy though no patients received more than 2 cycles of DMAC. Most cats tolerated the protocol well though 3 patients exhibited Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group (VCOG) grade 4 neutropenia and 1 patient exhibited grade 4 thrombocytopenia. The median progression‐free survival and overall survival from starting DMAC were 14 and 17 days respectively. There is still an unmet need for successful rescue chemotherapy protocol for cats with relapsed lymphoma.[Correction added on 02 November 2017, after first online publication: The expansion for the term DMAC was previously incorrect and has been corrected in this current version.]
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.12360