Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in blood T-lymphocytes in dogs with mammary cancer
By Karayannopoulou, Maria et al.·Published in Veterinary immunology and immunopathology·2017·Department of Clinical Studies-Companion Animal Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of blood T-lymphocyte subpopulations involved in host cellular immunity in dogs with mammary cancer.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 28 female dogs with mammary cancer were studied to understand how their immune system was affected compared to 14 healthy dogs. The researchers found that while the overall number of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) remained the same, the specific types of T-lymphocytes that help fight cancer were altered. In particular, the number of CD8 T-cells, which are important for attacking cancer cells, was significantly lower in the dogs with cancer. This suggests that dogs with mammary cancer may have a weakened immune response, particularly in fighting the disease.
People also search for: dog mammary cancer symptoms · T-cell count in dogs · treatment for dog cancer
Abstract
Cancer-bearing patients are often immunosuppressed. In dogs with mammary or other cancers, various alterations in blood cell populations involved in host cellular immunity have been reported; among these cell populations some T-lymphocyte subsets play an important role against cancer. The purpose of the present study was to investigate any alterations in circulating T-lymphocyte subpopulations involved in cellular immunity in bitches with mammary cancer, in comparison to age-matched healthy intact bitches. Twenty eight dogs with mammary cancer and 14 control dogs were included in this study. Twelve out of the 28 bitches had mammary cancer of clinical stage II and 16/28 of stage III. Histological examination revealed that 23/28 animals had carcinomas, 3/28 sarcomas and 2/28 carcinosarcomas. White blood cell, neutrophil and lymphocyte absolute numbers were measured by complete blood count. Furthermore, blood T-lymphocyte population (CD3) and the subpopulations CD4, CD8and CD5were assessed by flow cytometry. White blood cell and neutrophil but not lymphocyte absolute numbers were higher (P=0.003 and P=0.001, respectively) in cancer patients than controls. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the relative percentage of T-lymphocytes (CD3) and of CD4, CD8subpopulations was lower (the CD4/CD8ratio was higher), whereas the percentage of CD5T-cells was higher, in dogs with cancer compared to controls; however, a statistically significant difference was found only in the case of CD8T-cells (P=0.014), whereas in the case of the CD4/CD8ratio the difference almost reached statistical significance (P=0.059). Based on these findings, it can be suggested that, although the absolute number of blood lymphocytes is unchanged, the relative percentages of T-lymphocyte subpopulations involved in host cell-mediated immunity are altered, but only cytotoxic CD8T-cells are significantly suppressed, in dogs with mammary cancer of clinical stage II or III compared to age-matched healthy controls.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28413049/