Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neutrophil immune function in dogs with tumors compared to healthy
By LeBlanc, Casey J et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2010·Department of Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Evaluation of peripheral blood neutrophil function in tumor-bearing dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with high-grade lymphoma, sarcoma, or carcinoma (a type of cancer) had their blood tested to see how well their immune cells, called neutrophils, could fight infections. The results showed that dogs with sarcoma and carcinoma had fewer neutrophils that could respond effectively to infections compared to healthy dogs. Specifically, dogs with sarcoma had significantly lower ability to engulf and destroy bacteria. While these findings suggest that cancer may weaken the immune response in dogs, more research is needed to understand the full impact on their health.
People also search for: dog cancer immune system · sarcoma in dogs symptoms · lymphoma treatment for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood neutrophils of untreated human cancer patients have been shown to have normal, increased, and decreased phagocytic activity, killing capacity, and/or oxidative burst activities. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to evaluate oxidative burst and phagocytic activities of peripheral blood neutrophils from tumor-bearing dogs before therapy and compare them with neutrophil function of healthy control dogs. METHODS: Heparinized whole blood was obtained from dogs with high-grade lymphoma (n=23), sarcoma (n=13), or carcinoma (n=11), and healthy control dogs (n=11) for flow cytometric evaluation of oxidative burst and phagocytic activities. Percentage of bursting cells and amount of oxidative burst activity were determined after stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or Escherichia coli. Percentage of phagocytic cells and amount of phagocytic activity were determined after incubation with fluorescent E. coli. RESULTS: Compared with control dogs, dogs with sarcoma (P=.004) and carcinoma (P=.05) had a lower percentage of neutrophils exhibiting oxidative burst activity after stimulation with PMA. Phagocytic activity was significantly lower in dogs with sarcomas compared with control dogs (P<.0001) and dogs with lymphoma (P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Untreated carcinomas and sarcomas in dogs may suppress the percentage of neutrophils capable of oxidative burst when stimulated by PMA. Furthermore, sarcomas also may suppress the amount of phagocytic activity per neutrophil. Until further studies can be performed, the clinical significance of these findings is unknown.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20003028/