Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pancreatic cancer signs and outcomes in cats
By Seaman, Rebecca L·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2004·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, 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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Exocrine pancreatic neoplasia in the cat: a case series.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with pancreatic cancer were found to have symptoms like loss of appetite, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Many of these cats also had a noticeable mass in their abdomen and showed signs of jaundice. Unfortunately, most of these cats had cancer that had spread to other organs, and all of them were euthanized or died within a week of being diagnosed. This type of cancer can be hard to tell apart from pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas.
People also search for: cat vomiting and loss of appetite · feline pancreatic cancer symptoms · why is my cat's belly swollen
Abstract
Eight cases of feline pancreatic adenocarcinoma and two cases of pancreatic adenoma were reviewed. The adenomas were incidental findings. Most cats with adenocarcinomas had anorexia (75%) and vomiting (63%), while 38% had abdominal pain, a palpable abdominal mass, and/or jaundice. Diagnostic abnormalities included leukocytosis, hyperglycemia, increased alanine aminotransferase activity, poor serosal detail on abdominal radiography, and an abdominal mass effect on ultrasonography. The majority of cats with carcinomas had metastases (mostly to liver, lung, and small intestine), and all were euthanized or died within 7 days of diagnosis. Clinically, feline pancreatic carcinoma may be difficult to distinguish from feline pancreatitis.
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/15131106/