Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Long-term chemo treatment for leukemia in a green-winged macaw
By Hammond, Elizabeth E et al.·Published in Journal of avian medicine and surgery·2010·Lion Country Safari, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Long-term treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in a green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera).
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A 32-year-old green-winged macaw was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia after tests showed an abnormal increase in certain white blood cells. The vet started chemotherapy with oral medications, including prednisone and chlorambucil, but had to stop chlorambucil after six weeks due to low platelet counts. The macaw's condition stabilized for nearly seven months with a different medication, cyclophosphamide, and continued prednisone, allowing the bird to maintain a good quality of life. Unfortunately, the macaw passed away shortly after the chemotherapy was accidentally stopped.
People also search for: green-winged macaw leukemia treatment · macaw chemotherapy side effects · chronic lymphocytic leukemia in birds
Abstract
A 32-year-old green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera) was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia based on progressive lymphocytosis and the presence of a monomorphic population of well-differentiated lymphocytes in the bone marrow of a clinically normal bird. Chemotherapy was initiated because of rapidly increasing peripheral lymphocyte counts. In addition to oral prednisone (1 mg/kg once daily), oral chlorambucil (1 mg/kg twice weekly) was initiated but was discontinued after 6 weeks because of thrombocytopenia. The leukocyte count was stabilized for 29 weeks with the concurrent use of oral cyclophosphamide (5 mg/kg 4 d/wk) and daily prednisone, and the bird exhibited a good quality of life. The bird died shortly after the chemotherapy was inadvertently discontinued. The neoplastic cells from this macaw stained positive for CD-3 antibody and negative for Bla.36, suggesting the leukemia was of T-cell origin. This is the first report of long-term treatment of a macaw with cyclophosphamide and documents thrombocytopenia in a macaw secondary to chlorambucil treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21302764/