Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bone marrow transplant used to treat acute leukemia in young cat
By Gasper, P W et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1996·Department of Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Allogeneic marrow transplantation in a cat with acute myeloid leukemia.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old cat was brought in because it was very tired and not eating, and tests showed it had a serious blood condition called acute myeloid leukemia. Since the cat was young and healthy otherwise, the vet decided to try a bone marrow transplant using marrow from its sibling. After the transplant, the cat faced some complications, including bleeding due to low platelet levels, but it eventually recovered. Four years later, the cat is doing well, although it did have a skin infection that cleared up. This case is notable as it's the first successful bone marrow transplant for a cat with this type of leukemia.
People also search for: cat leukemia treatment · cat bone marrow transplant · why is my cat not eating · cat tiredness and anemia
Abstract
A listless, anorectic 2-year-old cat was found to have a normocytic, nonregenerative anemia. A diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia type M6Er was made. Because the cat was young, had negative FeLV and feline immunodeficiency virus test results, had a sibling that could be used as a bone marrow donor, had received only 1 transfusion, and was in good health other than being anemic, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was attempted using marrow from the cat's sibling. The most life-threatening complication following BMT was hemorrhage caused by severe thrombocytopenia. Complete hematopoietic engraftment was evident 36 days after BMT. The cat then was discharged to its owner. In the first year, the cat continued to improve with the exception of an intractable dermatophytosis, which resolved eventually. The cat continues to do well 4 years after BMT. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of successful allogeneic BMT for a cat with acute myeloid leukemia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8635972/