Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival and treatment outcomes in 50 dogs with acute leukemia
By Bennett, A L et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2017·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine acute leukaemia: 50 cases (1989-2014).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Fifty dogs diagnosed with acute leukemia, a serious bone marrow cancer, were treated at three veterinary hospitals. Out of those, 36 dogs received chemotherapy, and 23 showed some improvement, lasting an average of about 56 days. Unfortunately, most dogs developed resistance to the treatment quickly, leading to a median survival time of only 55 days. For dogs that did not receive treatment or were only given palliative care, the survival was even shorter, averaging just 7.5 days. This highlights the challenges in effectively treating acute leukemia in dogs.
People also search for: dog acute leukemia treatment · canine leukemia survival rate · chemotherapy for dogs with cancer
Abstract
Acute leukaemia (AL) is a bone marrow malignancy of hematopoietic progenitors that historically is poorly responsive to treatment. With the widespread adoption of dose-intense chemotherapy, more human patients attain long-term survivals, but whether comparable progress has been made in canine AL is unknown. To investigate this question, medical records from three academic veterinary hospitals were reviewed. Fifty dogs met the criteria for AL, having excess circulating or marrow blasts, a major cytopenia(s), and no substantial lymphadenopathy. Thirty-six dogs received cytotoxic chemotherapy; 23 achieved a complete or partial response for a median of 56 days (range, 9-218). With failure or relapse, 14 dogs were rescued. Median survival with treatment was poor at 55 days (range, 1-300). Untreated (n = 6) and palliatively-treated (n = 8) dogs lived a median of 7.5 days. Most dogs developed chemoresistance within weeks of initiating treatment, and consequently, survival times for AL remain disappointingly short.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27402031/