Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival and outlook for cats after spleen removal for mast cell
By Kraus, Kelly A et al.Ā·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital AssociationĀ·2015Ā·From the Surgery Department, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Outcome and Prognostic Indicators in Cats Undergoing Splenectomy for Splenic Mast Cell Tumors.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old domestic shorthair cat was diagnosed with a splenic mast cell tumor and underwent surgery to remove the spleen. After the operation, the cat's recovery was closely monitored, and it was found that those who received blood products during surgery had a shorter survival time. However, cats that responded well to chemotherapy after surgery had a better chance of living longer. On average, cats in this study lived about 390 days after surgery, but some lived much longer. This highlights the importance of monitoring for signs of cancer spread and considering chemotherapy for better outcomes.
Abstract
This was a multi-institutional retrospective study evaluating the outcome and clinical parameters associated with the postoperative prognosis of 36 cats with splenic mast cell tumors treated with splenectomy. Clinical parameters reviewed included signalment, clinical history, results of staging tests, surgical variables, administration of blood products, presence of metastasis, postoperative complications, administration of chemotherapy postoperatively, chemotherapy protocol, and response to chemotherapy. Overall median survival time was 390 days (range, 2-1737 days). Administration of a blood product (P < .0001), metastasis to a regional lymph node (P = .022), and evidence of either concurrent or historical neoplasia (P = .037) were negatively associated with survival. Response to chemotherapy (P = .0008) was associated with an improved median survival time. Larger-scale prospective studies evaluating different chemotherapy protocols are required to elucidate the discrepancy between lack of survival benefit with administration of chemotherapy and improvement in survival time with positive response to chemotherapy.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26083443/