Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
White blood cell ratios in dogs with new lymphoma diagnosis
By Koenhemsi, Lora et al.·Published in Veterinary medicine and science·2026·Department of Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of White Blood Cell Ratios in Newly Diagnosed Multicentric Lymphoma in Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs diagnosed with lymphoma (a type of cancer) showed higher levels of certain blood cell ratios compared to healthy dogs. Specifically, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were significantly elevated, while the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) was lower in the dogs with lymphoma. These findings suggest that these blood ratios could indicate inflammation related to the cancer. More research is needed to see how these ratios could be used in diagnosing or monitoring lymphoma in dogs.
People also search for: dog lymphoma symptoms · elevated blood cell ratios in dogs · dog cancer blood test
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Lymphoma is one of the most common malignancies in dogs. In human medicine, complete blood count (CBC)-derived inflammatory ratios, such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), have been investigated as potential biomarkers in cancer. However, studies evaluating these parameters in canine lymphoma are limited. This study aimed to compare NLR, MLR and PLR values between dogs diagnosed with lymphoma and healthy controls. METHODS: A total of 26 dogs with lymphoma and 10 clinically healthy dogs were included. CBC parameters were analysed, and NLR, MLR and PLR were calculated. RESULTS: NLR and PLR values were significantly higher in dogs with lymphoma compared to healthy dogs, whereas MLR decreased. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that CBC-derived inflammatory ratios, particularly NLR and PLR, are elevated in dogs with lymphoma and may reflect tumour-associated systemic inflammation. Further studies are needed to evaluate their potential clinical utility.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42048021/