Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bone lymphoma causing pain in an 8-month-old Mastiff-cross dog
By Kornya, Matthew et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2025·Ontario Veterinary College.·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine polyostotic B-cell lymphoma: a case with clinical, immunohistochemical, and flow cytometric characterization, and review of the literature.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-month-old Mastiff-cross dog was brought in with bone pain and swelling in several bones, including the legs and ribs. Tests revealed that the dog had lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the immune system, and it also had low red and white blood cell counts. Unfortunately, due to the aggressive nature of the disease and the extent of the cancer, the dog was euthanized. A postmortem exam confirmed that the lymphoma had spread extensively throughout the bones and other organs. Sadly, this type of bone lymphoma is rare and often leads to a poor prognosis in young dogs.
People also search for: dog bone cancer symptoms · Mastiff lymphoma treatment · puppy with bone pain
Abstract
An 8-mo-old Mastiff-cross dog with bone pain and lytic-proliferative lesions in the radius, ulna, femur, vertebral spinous processes, and ribs, was diagnosed with lymphoma. The dog also had anemia and thrombocytopenia, and atypical circulating lymphocytes were identified as B cells by flow cytometry. Due to the multicentric, rapidly progressive disease, the dog was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed extensive bone replacement by lymphoma, and infiltration of lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. Histomorphology and immunohistochemistry showed a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that was immunopositive for PAX5 and CD20, and immunonegative for CD3. Lymphoma of bone is rare in dogs and humans, and is most frequently reported in pediatric individuals. Including our case, 7 of 14 reported cases occurred in dogs <2-y-old, and all but 1 had polyostotic disease. Long bones, ribs, and vertebrae were affected most often, and the distal metaphyseal region was targeted in long bones. Visceral and nodal tissue infiltration was common, and all tumors had a diffuse architecture. Most dogs with polyostotic lymphoma were euthanized at the time of diagnosis, and survival was <6 wk in dogs that were treated with chemotherapy or surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40119492/