Zoology
26 lutego 2019

Cats lymphoma? It does not have to be a verdict!

What is cat lymphoma?

The lymphoma is a malignant neoplasm that can attack your cat's body. In Latin the disease is called Lymphoma. It is also known as lymphosarcoma (lymphosarcoma).

Lymphoma in a cat

Hematopoietic tissue cancer is one of the most common forms of this disease. It affects about 90% of all cases of lymphoma in cats.

There is no standard for the age at which a cat can develop lymphoma. It occurs most often in the age group from 2 to 5 years and in older individuals, over 6 years of age. However, the disease can affect any cat, regardless of age.

As far as breeds are concerned, oriental breeds are most likely to develop lymphoma, especially Siamese cats. Similarly, however, in this case, there is no strict rule and every breed is exposed to it.

Cat lymphoma - symptoms, morphology

In order for a doctor to be able to tell your cat if she's ill, it's necessary to have a thorough diagnosis and to look at the symptoms. At the very beginning, blood and urine tests are carried out on the animal. If all the results confirm concerns, additional tests should be carried out to give an accurate diagnosis.

First of all, the doctor performs a biopsy of the lymph nodes, which are often enlarged in the case of lymphoma. Cytological tests shall be carried out on samples taken. However, they may not give 100% reliable results. Histopathological examinations are much more reliable in this respect. They shall be carried out on samples of tissue taken from the body of the cat. Thanks to them it is possible not only to confirm whether there is lymphoma in the body of the individual, but also to assess the severity of the disease and its malignancy.

Cat lymphoma - treatment

Collection of material from the body of the cat for examination or other diagnostic tests may take place in different ways, depending on the likely location of the lymphoma. If nasal lymphoma is suspected, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are most commonly used. Biopsy is usually used for skin lymphoma. In the case of lymphoma or tracheal lymphoma, bronchoscopy is used.

Lymphoma in cat - gastrointestinal tract

Different test methods are used for gastrointestinal lymphoma. Often it is a gastroscopy or colanoscopy; however, these studies may not be sufficiently accurate and may not provide sufficient material for the study. A better method is biopsy - most often percutaneous thin-needle or coarse-needle aspiration biopsy. In some cases, lymphoma affected sites are sampled via diagnostic laparotomy.

how to treat cat lymphoma

Lymphoma in cats - mediastinum

Mediastinal lymphoma is diagnosed with chest X-ray. Chest fluid may also be sampled and cytological tests may be carried out. In case of kidney lymphoma, ultrasound examination with simultaneous thin-needle aspiration biopsy is performed. Samples of cerebrospinal fluid are taken for examination of the nervous form of the lymphoma. Magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and melographic examination are also carried out.

There is a great risk of developing lymphoma in cats that have become infected with leukemia virus. Then lymphomas occur mainly in the mediastinum, around the eyeballs, in the gastrointestinal tract or in the spinal cord. It is very important to be aware of the owner and to react quickly to any symptoms of the disease. This can be seen from the statistics. Today there are far fewer cases of lymphoma caused by leukemia virus. All this is due to the growing knowledge about the subject, thanks to which animal owners are able to better respond to such threats.

Another factor influencing the risk of lymphoma is the cat immunodeficiency virus. All other ailments that reduce the overall immunity of the body may also be of importance.

It is not fully known how inflammatory states of the mucous membranes and intestines, lasting for a long time, affect the occurrence of lymphoma. It is suspected, however, that they also have a strong connection with this.

Some cat breeds have strong genetic conditions for such diseases. This group includes mainly oriental breeds.

A significant risk of falling ill is caused by tobacco smoke. Owners should bear this in mind and protect their pets from its influence.

The symptoms of lymphoma may vary considerably depending on the form of the lymphoma. In the case of intestinal lymphoma these are diarrhoea, constipation, weight loss and body weakness. Intradermal lymphoma usually causes respiratory problems such as coughing and shortness of breath.

Renal lymphoma

The kidneys are the starting point for about 1/3 of all lymphoma cases. It is from this organ that the disease often spreads to other areas.

Another form is lymphoma in the intra-nasal form. Here, too, dyspnoea and intense coughing occur, and excessive sneezing also occurs.

Eye lymphoma causes deformation and changes in the shape of the eyeball. At least one eye is exophthalmos. The size and shape of the pupil also changes.

Editing
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