Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline lymphoma linked to leukemia virus infection in Brazil
By Cristo, T G et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2019·Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline Lymphoma and a High Correlation with Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection in Brazil.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 53 cats with lymphoma, a type of cancer affecting the blood cells, was studied in Brazil to see how it relates to feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection. The cats ranged in age from about 1.5 to 15.5 years, with the most cases found in younger cats. Over half of the cats tested positive for FeLV, suggesting a strong link between this virus and lymphoma in cats. The study highlights the importance of preventing FeLV infection to reduce the risk of lymphoma in cats.
People also search for: cat lymphoma symptoms · feline leukemia virus treatment · why does my cat have cancer · cat cancer survival rates · FeLV prevention in cats
Abstract
Lymphoma is the most important haemopoietic tumour in cats and has been associated with feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection. In Brazil, no studies have established a correlation between FeLV infection and lymphoma. The aim of this study was to characterize lymphomas arising in cats in Brazil anatomically and microscopically, and to correlate these data with FeLV infection as determined by immunohistochemistry for the FeLV gp70 antigen. Fifty-three cats with lymphoma were evaluated. The mean age of junior, prime, mature, senior and geriatric cats was 1.65 years, 4.34 years, 8 years, 12.14 years and 15.5 years, respectively. The anatomical types of lymphoma were multicentric (43.4%, 23/53), mediastinal (33.96%, 18/53), renal (11.32%, 6/53), hepatic (5.66%, 3/53), nodal (3.77%, 2/53) and alimentary (1.89 %, 1/53). The histological types were small noncleaved-cell (33.96%, 18/53), mixed diffuse (22.64%, 12/53), immunoblastic (15.11%, 8/53), lymphoblastic (11, 32%, 6/53), small lymphocytic (9.43%, 5/53), small cleaved-cell (3.77%, 2/53) and large cell lymphomas (3.77%, 2/3). Immunopositivity for FeLV was observed in 56.6% (30/53) of the samples. FeLV positivity was equally distributed between the genders, but predominated in junior and prime cats. The degree of association between lymphoma and FeLV infection in Brazil was higher than that found in other countries, demonstrating the need to prevent and control the factors associated with infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30691602/