Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How vets diagnose intestinal lymphoma and inflammation in cats
By Waly, N E et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2005·School of Clinical Veterinary Science, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Immunohistochemical diagnosis of alimentary lymphomas and severe intestinal inflammation in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 32 cats, aged 4 to 16 years, were experiencing symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and weight loss, leading to a diagnosis of intestinal lymphoma. Upon further testing, it was found that most cases were B-cell lymphomas, but some cats actually had severe intestinal inflammation instead of lymphoma. This study suggests that using special staining techniques can help veterinarians better differentiate between lymphoma and inflammation in cats. Improved diagnosis can lead to more effective treatment options for affected cats.
People also search for: cat vomiting and diarrhea · feline lymphoma symptoms · cat weight loss treatment · intestinal inflammation in cats · how to diagnose cat lymphoma
Abstract
Intestinal tissue samples were examined from 32 cats in which a histopathological diagnosis of alimentary lymphoma or multicentric lymphoma affecting the gastrointestinal tract had been made. These samples were re-evaluated histopathologically and serial sections were examined immunohistochemically with antisera specific for the lymphoid markers CD3, CD79a and BLA-36 and for class II molecules of the major histocompatability complex. The cats ranged in age from 4-16 years (median 10.5 years). The main presenting clinical signs were vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss. The majority of alimentary lymphomas were of the B-cell type (n=15), whereas cases of T-cell lymphoma were fewer in number (n=8). Four cats had lymphoma of a mixed T-and B-cell phenotype. In five of the cats, immunohistochemistry suggested an inflammatory process, in contradiction to the original histopathological diagnosis of lymphoma. Immunolabelling would appear to be a useful adjunct to histopathology in classifying cases of feline alimentary lymphoma, and may help in distinguishing lymphoma from severe intestinal inflammation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16213517/