Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Managing diabetes and acromegaly in a cat with radiation therapy
By Sawada, Harumi et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2019·School of Veterinary Science, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Long-term management and postmortem examination in a diabetic cat with acromegaly treated with two courses of radiation therapy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old male cat with diabetes was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition caused by an enlarged pituitary gland. After receiving radiation therapy, the cat no longer needed insulin for over a year, but the tumor returned, leading to an increase in insulin dosage. A second round of radiation therapy was given, and insulin was stopped again, but unfortunately, the cat later passed away from lymphoma. A postmortem exam confirmed the presence of a pituitary tumor, indicating that while the radiation therapy was effective for managing the acromegaly, further discussion on treatment protocols for recurring tumors is needed.
People also search for: cat diabetes treatment · acromegaly in cats · radiation therapy for cat tumors · managing insulin in diabetic cats · cat lymphoma symptoms
Abstract
A 12-year-old, castrated male cat with diabetes mellitus was diagnosed with acromegaly and examined with magnetic resonance imaging (enlarged pituitary gland, 8 mm); serum hormone concentrations were measured. After the first course of radiation therapy (4 Gy, 12 fractions), insulin administration was not required from day 420 after diagnosis. Enlarged pituitary tumor (8 mm) recurred, and insulin dosage amount of the cat was increased on day 1,065. The second course of radiation therapy (6 Gy, 4 fractions) was performed on day 1,201 and insulin administration was again discontinued. However, the cat died from lymphoma on day 1,397. Postmortem examination revealed pituitary adenoma. Most tumor cells were positive for chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and growth hormone immunohistochemistry. The pancreatic islet cells revealed diffuse hyperplasia. We achieved long-term successful management of an acromegalic cat with two courses of RT. However, a protocol for a second course of RT for feline recurrent pituitary tumor should be further discussed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30449819/