Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lymphoma in dogs and its link to vector-borne infections in Lisbon
By Henriques, Joaquim et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2021·Onevet-Hospital Veteriná·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine lymphoma and vector-borne diseases: Molecular and serological evaluation of a possible complicity.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 61 dogs diagnosed with lymphoma were tested for infections from certain parasites, including Leishmania, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma, to see if these could be linked to their cancer. The tests showed that most dogs were negative for these infections, with only a small number testing positive for Leishmania. While there was a slight increase in the presence of Leishmania in the lymphoma tissues, the study found no clear connection between these infections and the development of lymphoma. More research is needed to understand if these parasites play any role in causing lymphoma in dogs.
People also search for: dog lymphoma causes · Leishmania in dogs · lymphoma treatment for dogs · dog cancer and infections · canine lymphoma symptoms
Abstract
Lymphoma is the most common haematological malignancy in dogs and its aetiology is largely unknown. The presence of canine vector-borne agents (CVBD) in lymphoma tissues has been described and its causative effects questioned. We intended to evaluate the presence and extent of Leishmania infantum, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Bartonella henselae infection in dogs with lymphoma. Sixty-one dogs, living in the Lisbon metropolitan area, with a diagnosis of lymphoma were enrolled. Immunofluorescence assays were used to detect serum IgG's. The presence of DNA from CVBD agents in tumour tissue was assessed by PCR. All dogs tested negative for B. henselae, A. phagocytophilum and E. canis by both serology and PCR. Regarding L. infantum, 8.2% (n = 5) of the dogs had a positive serologic result. L. infantum DNA was detected in two samples of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). These results show an increased, but not significant, seropositivity (8.2% vs 7.9%) and molecular detection (3.3% vs 1.2%) for L. infantum in dogs with lymphoma, when compared to the reported canine population in the same geographical area. We could not identify an association between lymphoma and E. canis, A. phagocytophilum, B. henselae or Leishmania infantum infection in the studied population. Nevertheless, further studies, following dogs trough their CVBD disease evolution, are worthwhile and may help clarify a possible role of CVBD agents in lymphomagenesis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33068307/