Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Oclacitinib treatment results in few improvements for dogs with skin
By Baba, Yuta et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2025·Tokyo Veterinary Dermatology Center, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Short-term administration of oclacitinib with concomitant medications in canine epitheliotropic lymphoma: A retrospective study of eight dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old dog with cutaneous epitheliotropic lymphoma (a type of skin cancer) was treated with oclacitinib, a medication usually for allergies. Unfortunately, only one out of eight dogs showed any improvement in symptoms, and the rest did not respond to the treatment. The dog that did improve had less itching, but there were also some mild side effects noted. Overall, the average survival time after diagnosis was about 229 days, indicating that oclacitinib may not be very effective for this condition.
People also search for: dog skin cancer treatment · oclacitinib for dogs · canine cutaneous lymphoma prognosis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Canine cutaneous epitheliotropic lymphoma (CEL) is a rare neoplastic disease with poor prognosis. Oclacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor primarily used to treat allergic and atopic dermatitis in dogs, may also cause other skin diseases. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of oclacitinib in the treatment of canine cutaneous lymphoma. ANIMALS: Eight client-owned dogs with CEL were included in the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The dogs were administered oclacitinib. This study examined the immunological characteristics, time to treatment initiation, dosage, cutaneous lesions and pruritus, adverse events, survival time and prior oclacitinib use. RESULTS: Only one of the eight dogs (12.5%) showed symptomatic improvement after oclacitinib treatment, with no clinical improvement observed in the other cases. Improvement in pruritus was noted in only one dog. Adverse events included mild leucopenia in one dog, which did not significantly affect prognosis. The median survival time after diagnosis was 228.5 days. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These results suggest that oral oclacitinib has limited efficacy in the treatment of canine CEL. Larger prospective studies are recommended to further investigate the optimal dose, treatment duration and potential combination therapies involving oclacitinib.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40525607/