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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Cat with bone cancer causing multiple broken bones at six months

By Brockley, Laura K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2012·Victoria Animal Cancer Care, Australia·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Polyostotic lymphoma with multiple pathological fractures in a six-month-old cat.

Species:
cat
LymphomaMovement & jointsCats

Plain-English summary

A 6-month-old female domestic shorthair cat was brought in for pain and swelling in her legs. The vet found swelling in her wrists and feet, along with swollen lymph nodes. Blood tests showed high calcium levels and unusual white blood cells, while X-rays revealed multiple broken bones due to cancer. Unfortunately, no treatment was given, and the cat was euthanized. Further tests confirmed she had B-cell lymphoma, a type of cancer that affected her bones and other organs.

People also search for: cat leg swelling · kitten cancer symptoms · domestic shorthair lymphoma treatment

Abstract

A 6-month-old female neutered domestic shorthair cat was examined for pain and swelling of the distal limbs. Swelling and malalignment of both carpi, dorsiflexion of the distal metatarsals and a mild, multicentric lymphadenopathy were detected on examination. Screening blood tests revealed a biclonal gammopathy, hypercalcemia and atypical leukocytes. Survey radiographs revealed lysis and proliferative changes within the physes. Multiple pathological physeal fractures were present, including the distal radii, metacarpal and metatarsal bones. No treatment was attempted and the patient was euthanased. Histopathology revealed infiltration by monomorphic round cells within the liver, spleen, kidney and bone marrow. Immunohistochemistry revealed strong reactivity to CD20. Clonality assays revealed clonal results for the B-cell loci, consistent with B-cell lymphoma. To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of polyostotic lymphoma with multiple pathological fractures in a cat. The predominantly distal distribution of osseous lesions is rarely reported in dogs and humans.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22334622/