Treating Canine Lymphoma in General Practice*

Treating Canine Lymphoma in General Practice

Canine lymphoma is one of the most common, and best documented, neoplasms in veterinary medicine with many patients managed in general practice. Canine lymphoma is generally very sensitive to chemotherapy and a rewarding disease to treat. Whilst the diagnosis can often be established cytologically, histological assessment provides further classification. Immunophenotyping (to characterise disease as of B or T cell origin) is recommended and can be achieved via immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry or PCR for antigen rearrangement (PARR). Ideally, staging should be performed at the time of the initial diagnosis and should include thoracic and abdominal imaging as well as bone marrow assessment. There are many different types of lymphoma with different clinical courses and variable prognoses so initial characterisation of each individual case is essential in guiding the treatment plan. High grade B cell multicentric lymphoma is most commonly encountered and has an expected survival time of 10 to 12 months when treated with chemotherapy. Multidrug chemotherapy protocols are the mainstay of treatment and CHOP and LOPP regimens are recommended as first-line treatment for high grade multicentric lymphoma. However, many alternative protocols are available and can be used to overcome any time and financial constraints the client might have.