Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Body condition score and survival in dogs with lymphoma
By Romano, F R et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2016·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association between Body Condition Score and Cancer Prognosis in Dogs with Lymphoma and Osteosarcoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs diagnosed with lymphoma (a type of cancer) and osteosarcoma (bone cancer) was studied to see if their weight at diagnosis affected how long they lived after treatment. It was found that being underweight was linked to shorter survival times for dogs with lymphoma, while being overweight did not seem to impact survival for either type of cancer. Most dogs in the study were at an ideal weight, and their body condition did not significantly affect how long they lived without disease progression. This suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is important, especially for dogs with lymphoma.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: In humans and rodents obesity appears to promote some cancers by increasing incidence, tumor aggressiveness, recurrence, and fatality. However, the relationship between obesity and cancer in dogs has not been thoroughly evaluated. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Whether body condition score (BCS) at the time of lymphoma (LSA) or osteosarcoma (OSA) diagnosis in dogs is predictive of survival time (ST) or progression-free interval (PFI). We hypothesized that an overweight body state at the time of cancer diagnosis would be associated with negative outcomes. ANIMALS: Dogs with LSA (n = 270) and OSA (n = 54) diagnosed and treated between 2000 and 2010. METHODS: Retrospective case review. Signalment, body weight, BCS, cancer diagnosis and treatment, relevant clinicopathologic values, and survival data were collected. Dogs were grouped by BCS (underweight, ideal, and overweight) and ST and PFI were compared. RESULTS: Overall, 5.5% of dogs were underweight, 54.0% were ideal weight, and 40.4% were overweight at diagnosis. Underweight dogs with LSA had shorter ST (P = .017) than ideal or overweight dogs. BCS was not associated with ST for OSA (P = .474). Progression-free interval did not differ among BCS categories for either cancer. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Obesity was not associated with adverse outcomes among dogs with LSA or OSA in this retrospective study; however, being underweight at the time of diagnosis of LSA was associated with shorter survival. More research is needed to elucidate the relationship between excessive body weight and cancer development and progression in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27279003/