Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with leishmaniasis diagnosed with rare T-cell lymphoma
By Foglia Manzillo, Valentina et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2008·Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Veterinarie, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Extranodal gammadelta-T-cell lymphoma in a dog with leishmaniasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male mongrel dog was brought to the vet due to hair loss and weight loss. Upon examination, the dog had pale gums, swollen lymph nodes, and an enlarged spleen, along with signs of anemia and other blood issues. He was diagnosed with leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection, and treated with medication for two months, which initially improved his condition. However, two months later, he returned with a firm lump on his thigh, which was found to be a type of cancer called gammadelta-T-cell lymphoma. Unfortunately, the lymphoma was linked to his previous leishmaniasis infection, but the specific cancer treatment details were not provided.
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Abstract
An 8-year-old intact male mongrel dog with alopecia and weight loss was referred to the Veterinary Faculty of Naples. The dog had pale mucous membranes, enlarged prescapular lymph nodes, and splenomegaly. Laboratory abnormalities included anemia, thrombocytopenia, and hyperglobulinemia. Bone marrow aspirate smears contained numerous Leishmania amastigotes and an immunofluorescent antibody titer was strongly positive (1:1280) for leishmaniasis. The dog was treated with a combination of meglumine antimoniate and allopurinol for 60 days and showed clinical improvement. Two months after the end of treatment the dog was again referred because of relapse of leishmaniasis and the presence of a firm subcutaneous mass on the medial right thigh. Based on cytologic examination of fine needle aspirates of the mass, a diagnosis of large-cell lymphoma was made. Flow cytometry of tumor cells revealed gammadelta-T-cell lymphoma with a CD5+, CD3+, TCRgammadelta+, CD4-, CD8-, CD45RA+ immunophenotype. Using nested PCR, amastigotes were not detected in the neoplastic tissue. An association between leishmaniasis and hematopoietic tumors has been described rarely. gammadelta-T cells may be involved in the host response to this parasite, and prolonged antigenic stimulation and chronic immunosuppression (typical of leishmaniasis) play a crucial role in the etiopathogenesis of T-cell lymphoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18761522/