Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cancer stem cells in dog lymphoma and chemotherapy effects
By Hartley, Genevieve et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2019·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cancer stem cell populations in lymphoma in dogs and impact of cytotoxic chemotherapy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs with lymphoma, a type of cancer affecting the lymphatic system, may have cancer stem cells (CSCs) that make the disease harder to treat. These CSCs can survive chemotherapy and lead to a return of the cancer after treatment. In the research, dogs with both B-cell and T-cell lymphoma showed higher levels of CSC markers in their tumor cells compared to normal cells. The study suggests that while chemotherapy can initially reduce the cancer, it might also encourage the growth of these resistant cells, which could explain why some dogs experience a relapse.
People also search for: dog lymphoma treatment · why does my dog’s cancer keep coming back · chemotherapy for dogs with cancer
Abstract
Cancer relapse following chemotherapy has been attributed in part to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC), which drive tumour growth and metastasis and are highly resistant to the effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy. As a result, treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy selects for drug-resistant CSC populations that eventually drive tumour recurrence. Little is known currently regarding the role of CSC in dogs with lymphoma, nor the impact of chemotherapy on CSC populations. Therefore, we prospectively quantitated CSC populations in dogs with B-cell (BCL) and T-cell lymphoma (TCL), using tumour aspirates and flow cytometric analysis with a panel of CSC markers. In addition, in vitro studies were carried out to determine the impact of chemotherapy resistance on the stem cell phenotype and stem cell properties of lymphoma cells. We found that the percentages of tumour cells expressing CSC markers were significantly increased in dogs with BCL, compared with B cells from normal lymph nodes. Similar findings were observed in dogs with TCL. In vitro studies revealed that lymphoma cells selected for resistance to CHOP chemotherapy had significantly upregulated expression of CSC markers, formed spheroids in culture more readily, and expressed significantly greater aldehyde dehydrogenase activity compared with chemotherapy-sensitive tumour cells. Similar results were observed in tumour samples dogs with relapsed BCL. These findings suggest that cytotoxic chemotherapy can lead to a relative enrichment of tumour cells with CSC properties, which may be associated with lymphoma recurrence.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30238600/