Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Malignant abdominal lymph nodes often look mixed on ultrasound
By Kinns, Jennifer & Mai, Wilfried·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2007·Matthew J Ryan Veterinary Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Association between malignancy and sonographic heterogeneity in canine and feline abdominal lymph nodes.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Labrador and an 8-year-old domestic shorthair cat were both found to have enlarged abdominal lymph nodes during ultrasound exams. The ultrasound showed that the Labrador's lymph nodes had irregular features, which indicated a high likelihood of cancer, and further tests confirmed that 91% of similar cases in dogs were malignant. In contrast, the cat's lymph nodes were also irregular, but only 63% of those cases were found to be cancerous, and the irregularity didn't strongly indicate malignancy. This highlights the importance of ultrasound features in assessing lymph node health in pets, especially in dogs.
People also search for: dog swollen lymph nodes cancer · cat lymph node ultrasound results · signs of cancer in dogs
Abstract
Abdominal lymph node enlargement is frequently noted sonographically. Certain sonographic features can be used to suggest whether lymphadenopathy is more likely benign or malignant. Specific changes in size, shape, echogenicity, and Doppler flow patterns have an association with malignancy. In this retrospective case-control study, the association between abdominal lymph node heterogeneity and malignancy was evaluated. Twenty-three canine and 18 feline patients with ultrasonographically heterogeneous abdominal nodes were evaluated for presence of benign or malignant lymphadenopathy. Controls were animals with lymph node enlargement of uniform echogeneity. Twenty-one (91%) of heterogeneous canine lymph nodes were malignant, and there was a significant association between heterogeneity and malignancy in canine abdominal lymph nodes (P= 0.024). Seven (63%) heterogeneous feline lymph nodes were malignant, with no significant association between heterogeneity and malignancy (P = 0.537).
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 PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18018731/