Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Prednisolone does not change chemo results for dog lymphoma
By Zandvliet, M et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2013·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prednisolone inclusion in a first-line multidrug cytostatic protocol for the treatment of canine lymphoma does not affect therapy results.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study involving 81 dogs with lymphoma found that adding prednisolone, a type of steroid, to a standard chemotherapy treatment did not improve the results. The dogs received a combination of medications, and while prednisolone is commonly used for its effects on cancer cells, it also has side effects like increased appetite and weight gain. Both groups of dogs showed similar success rates in fighting the cancer and had comparable survival times. This suggests that veterinarians might consider leaving out prednisolone from the initial treatment plan for lymphoma in dogs to avoid unnecessary side effects.
People also search for: dog lymphoma treatment options · canine chemotherapy side effects · prednisolone for dogs with cancer
Abstract
Chemotherapy protocols for canine lymphoma include the routine use of glucocorticoids for their lympholytic effect. However, glucocorticoids are associated with side effects (e.g. polyphagia, polyuria, and weight gain), limit the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and can induce drug transporter expression that could lead to drug resistance. Despite these negative effects, there are no data to support the use of glucocorticoids as part of a multidrug chemotherapy protocol for the treatment of canine lymphoma. A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted in 81 dogs with multicentric lymphoma and no history of recent glucocorticoid use. All dogs were staged and treated with the same chemotherapy protocol (L-asparaginase, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) with half of the dogs receiving prednisolone. Both treatment groups were similar with respect to demographics, immunophenotype, and clinical stage, except for a higher number of substage b patients in the prednisolone group (5 vs. 14; P=0.015). Treatment results obtained with the initial treatment (complete response rate 75%, disease-free period 176 days) and rescue treatment (complete response rate 45%, disease-free period 133 days), overall survival (283 days) and adverse events (number and grade) were similar for both groups. In conclusion, prednisolone, as part of a multidrug chemotherapy protocol, has no additional effect on treatment results and can be omitted from first-line multidrug protocols used for the treatment of canine lymphoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23746872/