Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with multiple infections and bone cancer causing blood in urine
By Geigy, Caroline et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2013·University of Zurich·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Multiple myeloma in a dog with multiple concurrent infectious diseases and persistent polyclonal gammopathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old spayed female mixed-breed dog was brought in for blood in her urine, difficulty urinating, increased thirst, and lameness that lasted for 8 days. She had a history of several infections years earlier. After treating a urinary tract infection, X-rays revealed a serious bone lesion in her right arm, which was found to be multiple myeloma (a type of cancer). The dog was treated with medications that helped improve her symptoms and bone health, and she remained in good condition for about a year after treatment.
People also search for: dog blood in urine · dog bone cancer treatment · mixed-breed dog lameness · multiple myeloma in dogs · dog chronic infections
Abstract
A 12-year-old, spayed female, mixed-breed dog was presented for acute hematuria, stranguria, polyuria, and polydipsia, as well as lameness for 8 days. Previous medical history included treatment for infection with Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Leishmania infantum, and Dirofilaria immitis 6.5 years prior to presentation. Besides persistently increased antibody titers to E canis and A phagocytophilum, polyclonal gammopathy with a monoclonal spike and moderate hypercalcemia were observed. There was marked hematuria, and Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from urine. Two weeks after successful treatment of the urinary tract infection, radiographs showed an extensive destructive monostotic lesion of the right humerus. Cytologic examination of fine-needle aspirates of this lesion revealed a neoplastic round cell population suggestive of multiple myeloma. The dog was treated with melphalan and prednisolone for suspected multiple myeloma and doxycycline for suspected ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Treatments lead to resolution of the clinical signs, hypercalcemia, and monoclonal gammopathy, and there was radiographic improvement of bone lesions; polyclonal gammopathy persisted. About one year after presentation the dog was still in clinical remission. This is a rare report of a dog with suspected multiple myeloma and a history of multiple chronic infectious diseases, suggesting that chronic infection and uncontrolled long-term stimulation of the immune system could contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23278475/