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. 2021 Oct;23(10):936-944.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X20984363. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Incidence and treatment of feline renal lymphoma: 27 cases

Ashlyn G Williams  1 , Ann E Hohenhaus  1 , Kenneth E Lamb  2
Affiliations

Incidence and treatment of feline renal lymphoma: 27 cases

Ashlyn G Williams et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: Lymphoma is the most common feline hematopoietic malignancy. Incidence of renal lymphoma has not been reported as a subset of a large population of feline lymphoma cases. Previous studies have reported renal lymphoma as both a singular entity as well as a component of multicentric disease. The clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, therapy and outcomes related to renal lymphoma have not been reported since Mooney et al in 1987. This retrospective study aimed to describe the incidence of renal lymphoma, clinical signs, treatment and survival.

Methods: Using a database of cats diagnosed with lymphoma between January 2008 and October 2017, cats with renal lymphoma were selected for further analysis. Cases were retrospectively staged according to Mooney et al (1987) and Gabor et al (1998). Data collected included age, clinical signs, clinicopathologic data, diagnostic imaging findings, lymphoma diagnostic method(s), treatment protocol(s) and survival time. Analyses comparing median survival based on therapy administered, renal lymphoma vs multicentric lymphoma, central nervous system involvement, presence of azotemia, anemia and International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) stage at diagnosis were performed.

Results: From a population of 740 cats with lymphoma, 27 cats had renal lymphoma (incidence, 3.6%), and 14 of those cats had multicentric lymphoma. Fewer stage IV and V cases were identified in this data set compared with Mooney et al; however, not all cats were completely staged. Median survival (range) for cats receiving corticosteroids alone compared with those receiving an L-CHOP (L-asparaginase, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisolone)-based protocol was 50 days (20-1027 days) in the corticosteroid group and 203 days (44-2364 days) for the L-CHOP group (P = 0.753) for cats that died secondary to lymphoma.

Conclusions and relevance: Neither clinical stage nor other factors were predictive of survival. Prospective studies are required to determine the optimal chemotherapy protocol.

Keywords: Lymphoma; azotemia; incidence; renal; reverse stage migration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fine-needle aspiration cytology of renal lymphoma in a cat. In addition to the monomorphic population of large lymphocytes, a renal tubule can be seen on the lower left of the image and a glomerulus in the upper right. Magnification × 20. Wright-Giemsa. Courtesy of Dr Michael Wiseman, IDEXX Laboratories
Figure 2
Figure 2
Feline lymphoma diagnoses from the Animal Medical Center between January 2008 and October 2017
Figure 3
Figure 3
Survival of cats treated with L-CHOP (blue line) compared with cats treated with corticosteroids alone (red line)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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