Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Minimal leftover lymphoma cells in lymph nodes predict relapse time
By Chalfon, Carmit et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2019·Centro Oncologico Veterinario, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Minimal residual disease in lymph nodes after achievement of complete remission predicts time to relapse in dogs with large B-cell lymphoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) that had undergone chemotherapy and achieved complete remission were studied to see how the presence of certain cells in their lymph nodes affected the time until they relapsed. The researchers found that dogs with less than 0.5% of these cells in their lymph nodes had a much longer time to relapse compared to those with higher levels. Specifically, dogs with low infiltration had not relapsed by the end of the study, while those with more than 0.5% of these cells relapsed in about 118 days on average. This suggests that checking for these cells in lymph nodes after treatment can help predict how long a dog might stay in remission.
People also search for: dog lymphoma treatment · large B-cell lymphoma prognosis · dog chemotherapy relapse signs
Abstract
Most dogs with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) that undergo chemotherapy and achieve clinical complete remission (CR) eventually relapse. However, time to relapse (TTR) is unpredictable. The aims of this prospective study were to assess the influence of post-chemotherapy lymph node (LN) infiltration by large CD21+ cells using flow cytometry (FC) on TTR, and to establish a cut-off value of prognostic significance. Dogs with newly-diagnosed, completely staged LBCL in CR after treatment were enrolled. Minimal residual disease (MRD) analysis by FC was performed on LN aspirates. TTR was calculated between MRD and relapse. Thirty-one dogs were enrolled: 4% had stage V disease, and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most common histotype (74%). Based on LN infiltration at MRD evaluation, three groups were created: (a) acellular samples, (b) ≤0.5% infiltration and (c) >0.5% infiltration. Overall median TTR was 154 days (range, 31-1974): 22 (71%) dogs relapsed during the study period, whereas 9 (29%) dogs did not. The difference among the three groups was significant (P = 0.042 log-rank test): median TTR was not reached for dogs with LN infiltration ≤0.5% (range, 195-429 days), 164 days (range 63-1974) for dogs with acellular LN samples, and 118 days (range, 31-232) for dogs with LN infiltration >0.5%. These results demonstrate that MRD assessment by FC on LN aspirates in dogs with LBCL in clinical CR predicts TTR. LN infiltration by >0.5% large CD21+ cells after treatment is an unfavourable prognostic factor.
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 PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30578621/