Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immune system changes in dogs with cancer at different stages
By Itoh, Hiroshi et al.·Published in Veterinary immunology and immunopathology·2009·Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of immunological status in tumor-bearing dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with cancer was studied to understand their immune system compared to healthy dogs. The researchers found that dogs with tumors had higher white blood cell counts, especially as their cancer progressed, and showed signs of a weakened immune response. Specifically, certain immune cells were lower in number in dogs with more advanced tumors. The study suggests that measuring specific immune markers could help predict how dogs with cancer might respond to treatment.
People also search for: dog cancer immune system · high white blood cell count in dogs · tumor progression in dogs · cancer treatment for dogs · dog cancer prognosis markers
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate immunological status in dogs with cancers at different stages, in comparison with normal dogs. The population of canine peripheral blood lymphocytes (cPBL), lymphocyte phenotypes, interleukin (IL)-6 activity and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha(1)-AG) level were analyzed. The tumor-bearing dogs had higher numbers of leukocytes than normal dogs, the count being higher in dogs with more advanced tumors. In the tumor-bearing dogs, differential leukocyte counts revealed higher percentages of inflammatory cells such as neutrophils, acidophils and monocytes, and lower numbers of CD4(+)T cells, than in normal dogs, the lymphocyte counts becoming much lower with tumor progression. In the tumor-bearing dogs, the CD8(+)T cell count at the early tumor stage was similar to that in normal dogs, but decreased with tumor progression, possibly reflecting the development of humoral immunity (Th2). Plasma IL-6 and TGF-beta activities were high in the tumor-bearing dogs. The plasma alpha(1)-AG concentration was also significantly high in the tumor-bearing dogs. Our findings suggest that assay of IL-6, TGF-beta and alpha(1)-AG may be very useful for prognostication in dogs with cancer, and that anti-tumor immunity is potently suppressed in such dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19464737/