Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Skin lymphocytosis in older cats causing hair loss and itching
By Gilbert, S et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2004·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical, morphological and immunohistochemical characterization of cutaneous lymphocytosis in 23 cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 23 older cats with skin problems was studied for a condition called cutaneous lymphocytosis, which can look like cancer but is often less serious. Many of these cats had hair loss, red patches, scaling, and some had ulcers on their skin, especially on their sides. Symptoms like itching, loss of appetite, and weight loss were also common. While the disease is usually slow-growing and not very aggressive, some cats did experience severe symptoms that led to euthanasia. Unfortunately, the tests done on their skin did not help predict how the disease would progress in each cat.
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Abstract
Clinical, morphological and immunohistochemical features of cutaneous lymphocytosis, an uncommon disease histologically resembling well-differentiated malignant lymphoma, were characterized in 23 cats. Clinical outcome was correlated with histomorphology and immunophenotype in an attempt to predict benign vs. malignant behaviour. The disease mainly affected older cats. Lesions were solitary in 61% of cats and often characterized by alopecia (73.9%), as well as erythema, scaling and ulceration. The lateral thorax was most commonly affected (43.5%). Pruritus was frequent (65.2%). Systemic signs included anorexia and weight loss. Morphologically, lesions were characterized by dermal infiltrations of well-differentiated CD3+ T-cells (100%) and aggregates of CD79+ B-cells (64.3%). Cutaneous lymphocytosis is slowly progressive and relatively benign, although in some cats systemic signs led to euthanasia. Four of 12 euthanized cats and one live cat also had lymphoid infiltrates in internal organs. Unfortunately, we were unable to predict clinical outcome by histological and immunohistochemical evaluations of skin lesions.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14989699/