Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nicotine levels in hair of cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma
By Smith, Victoria et al.·Published in Veterinary Record·2020·Small Animal Hospital, Veterinary School, University of Glasgow Glasgow UK, United Kingdom·View original on Crossref →
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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Hair nicotine concentration of cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and unaffected control cases
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 35 cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma (a type of cancer affecting the digestive system) and compared them to 32 healthy cats to see if exposure to secondhand smoke was linked to the disease. Researchers measured nicotine levels in the cats' hair as a way to assess this exposure. They found no significant difference in nicotine levels between the two groups, suggesting that secondhand smoke may not be a major factor in developing this type of lymphoma in cats. More research is needed to fully understand any potential connections.
People also search for: cat lymphoma symptoms · secondhand smoke cat cancer · gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats
Abstract
Background A previous study showed an association between owner‐reported exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and lymphoma in cats. This study aimed to investigate the association between ETS exposure and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats, using hair nicotine concentration (HNC) as a biomarker. Methods This was a prospective, multi‐centre, case–control study. Gastrointestinal lymphoma was diagnosed on cytology or histopathology. Hair samples were obtained from 35 cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and 32 controls. Nicotine was extracted from hair by sonification in methanol followed by hydrophilic interaction chromatography with mass spectrometry. Non‐parametric tests were used. Results The median HNC of the gastrointestinal lymphoma and control groups was not significantly different (0.030 ng/mg and 0.029 ng/mg, respectively, p=0.46). When the HNC of all 67 cats was rank ordered and divided into quartiles, there was no significant difference in the proportion of lymphoma cases or controls within these groups (p=0.63). The percentage of cats with an HNC≥0.1 ng/mg was higher for the lymphoma group (22.9%) than the control group (15.6%) but failed to reach significance (p=0.45). Conclusion A significant association was not identified between HNC (a biomarker for ETS) and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats; however, an association may exist and further studies are therefore required.
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 Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105564