Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with chronic lymphocytic leukemia lives long after combined drug
By Lee, Ga-Won et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2021·College of Veterinary Medicine, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case Report: Long-Term Survival of a Dog With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treated With Chlorambucil, Prednisolone, and Imatinib.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old male Poodle was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) after showing signs of increased lymphocytes in his blood. Initially, he was treated with prednisolone and chlorambucil, but there was little improvement. The vet then added imatinib to his treatment plan, which successfully resolved the blood abnormalities associated with CLL. After about a year of treatment, follow-up tests showed normal lymphocyte levels, and the dog remained healthy for two more years without serious side effects.
People also search for: dog leukemia treatment · Poodle lymphocytosis · imatinib for dogs · chronic lymphocytic leukemia in dogs · dog cancer treatment options
Abstract
A 7-year-old castrated male Poodle dog presented with chronic progressive lymphocytosis. Hematologic and peripheral blood smear findings included remarkable lymphocytosis with well-differentiated small lymphocytes. Cytology of bone marrow aspirate showed hypercellular integrity with infiltration of small mature lymphocytes, accounting for 45% of all nucleated cells. Flow cytometry of blood and marrow samples revealed neoplastic lymphocytes predominantly expressing the CD21 molecule. B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was diagnosed on an immunophenotypic analysis. Administrations of prednisolone and chlorambucil were initiated and the response was unremarkable. Therefore, additional treatment with imatinib was provided, which resolved the hematologic abnormalities associated with CLL. Flow cytometry after ~1 year of treatment showed normalization of the count of lymphocytes positive for CD21 and resolved hematologic lymphocytosis. The dog was followed-up for 2 years, and there were no severe adverse effects. This case indicates that imatinib may be a good option as an adjunctive therapy with prednisolone and chlorambucil treatment for CLL in dogs without treatment response.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35111836/