Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diagnosing acute erythroid leukemia in a retrovirus-negative cat
By Suzuki, Satoshi et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2021·Koto General Hospital, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Anti-CD71 antibody immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, subtype acute erythroid leukemia with erythroid dominance (AML M6-Er), in a retrovirus-negative cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old spayed female Scottish Fold cat was brought to the vet because she was lethargic, not eating, and had a fever. Tests ruled out common viral infections, but a blood smear showed abnormal early red blood cell precursors. Despite aggressive treatment for her condition, which was diagnosed as a type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML M6-Er), the cat sadly passed away after about four months. A postmortem exam confirmed the presence of cancerous cells in her bone marrow and other organs.
People also search for: cat lethargy and fever · Scottish Fold cat cancer treatment · symptoms of cat leukemia · cat not eating and lethargic
Abstract
CD71 is an immunohistochemical marker used in diagnosing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) M6-Er in humans; however, to our knowledge, it has not been reportedly used for immunohistochemistry in veterinary medicine. We evaluated the pathologic features of AML M6-Er in a retrovirus-negative cat and used CD71 to support the diagnosis. A 4-y-old spayed female Scottish Fold cat was presented with lethargy, anorexia, and fever. Whole-blood PCR assay results for pro feline leukemia virus/pro feline immunodeficiency virus and feline vector-borne diseases were negative. Early erythroid precursors were observed in the peripheral blood smear. Fine-needle aspiration of the enlarged spleen and splenic lymph node showed many early erythroid precursors. Bone marrow aspirate smears revealed erythroid hyperplasia with 68.4% erythroid lineage and 3.6% rubriblasts. Dysplastic cells infiltrated other organs. The patient was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, progressing to the early phase of AML M6-Er. The patient died on day 121 despite multidrug treatments. Postmortem examination revealed neoplastic erythroblasts infiltrating the bone marrow and other organs. Neoplastic cells were immunopositive for CD71 but immunonegative for CD3, CD20, granzyme B, von Willebrand factor, CD61, myeloperoxidase, and Iba-1. Although further studies are necessary for the application of CD71, our results supported the morphologic diagnosis of AML M6-Er.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33225861/