Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Metabolic problems in dogs treated with doxycycline for B-cell
By Hume, Kelly R et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2018·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Metabolic Abnormalities Detected in Phase II Evaluation of Doxycycline in Dogs with Multicentric B-Cell Lymphoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with multicentric B-cell lymphoma (a type of cancer) was treated with doxycycline, an antibiotic that may help slow cancer cell growth. The treatment lasted between 1 to 8 weeks, but unfortunately, none of the dogs showed improvement in their tumors, although one dog maintained stable disease for 6 weeks. Some dogs experienced serious side effects, including liver problems indicated by elevated liver enzymes. While doxycycline showed potential in lab tests to reduce cancer cell viability, it did not lead to remission in these dogs, and careful monitoring is advised if this treatment is used in the future.
People also search for: dog lymphoma treatment · doxycycline side effects in dogs · dog cancer liver problems
Abstract
Doxycycline has antiproliferative effects in human lymphoma cells and in murine xenografts. We hypothesized that doxycycline would decrease canine lymphoma cell viability and prospectively evaluated its clinical tolerability in client-owned dogs with spontaneous, nodal, multicentric, substage a, B-cell lymphoma, not previously treated with chemotherapy. Treatment duration ranged from 1 to 8 weeks (median and mean, 3 weeks). Dogs were treated with either 10 ( = 6) or 7.5 ( = 7) mg/kg by mouth twice daily. One dog had a stable disease for 6 weeks. No complete or partial tumor responses were observed. Five dogs developed grade 3 and/or 4 metabolic abnormalities suggestive of hepatopathy with elevations in bilirubin, ALT, ALP, and/or AST. To evaluate the absorption of oral doxycycline in our study population, serum concentrations in 10 treated dogs were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Serum levels were variable and ranged from 3.6 to 16.6 µg/ml (median, 7.6 µg/ml; mean, 8.8 µg/ml). To evaluate the effect of doxycycline on canine lymphoma cell viability, trypan blue exclusion assay was performed on canine B-cell lymphoma cell lines (17-71 and CLBL) and primary B-cell lymphoma cells from the nodal tissue of four dogs. A doxycycline concentration of 6 µg/ml decreased canine lymphoma cell viability by 80%, compared to matched, untreated, control cells (mixed model analysis, < 0.0001; Wilcoxon signed rank test, = 0.0313). Although the short-term administration of oral doxycycline is not associated with the remission of canine lymphoma, combination therapy may be worthwhile if future research determines that doxycycline can alter cell survival pathways in canine lymphoma cells. Due to the potential for metabolic abnormalities, close monitoring is recommended with the use of this drug in tumor-bearing dogs. Additional research is needed to assess the tolerability of chronic doxycycline therapy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29536017/