What Are the Causes of Lymphoma in Cats?
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Description
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Lymphoma, sometimes called lymphosarcoma, is disease of lymphoid tissue that results in the spread of malignant tumors through the lymphatic system. Affected areas include lymph nodes, tonsils, thymus, and almost every organ in the body. As the intrusion of the cancerous cells intensifies, organs shut down. A cat with lymphoma often loses his or her appetite, vomits or gets diarrhea, weakens, and eventually dies.
Presentation of the disease is quite general, especially in the early stages, and is difficult to detect. Symptoms vary depending on which organs are affected, although progressive lack of appetite, lethargy, and weight loss are common in most forms. Other symptoms include chronic diarrhea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing, although all of these may indicate other conditions. The most common form of feline lymphoma is intestinal, although it can begin anywhere and spread throughout the entire body. There are multicentric, mediastinal, and alimentary forms of lymphoma, although tumors spread similarly in all forms.
Causes
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Cats have a higher incidence of lymphoma than dogs or humans. Genetic disposition is perhaps the strongest factor in developing lymphoma, although environmental exposure to carcinogens plays a role as well. While there is no breed or sex predilection for cats that develop the condition, older cats, in the nine to ten years old range, have a higher incidence of it. In the past, the age range was lower largely due to widespread feline leukemia which most often presented as mediastinal lymphoma, that is tumors originating in the chest cavity. While lymphoma was strongly associated with Feline Leukemia Virus, appearing co-morbidly in 70 percent of cases, only 20 percent of affected cats today also have Feline Leukemia. The feline immunodeficiency virus, FIV, increases a cat's chance of developing lymphoma by sixfold.
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Environmental factors, such as exposure to carcinogens, may also play a role in the development of Leukemia, although there is scant evidence to support this. Some studies show exposure to cigarette smoke may double a cat's risk of developing lymphoma. A long standing theory linking feline lymphoma to inflammatory disease has yet to be proven or disproven. -
Treatment
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Chemotherapy is quite common in treatment of feline lymphoma. Around seven percent of cats undergoing chemotherapy require hospitalization due to side effects, while the majority can return home. Many times more than one chemotherapy drug is administered. While whiskers may be lost, substantial hair loss is not a usual side effect of chemotherapy in animals. Chemotherapy usually has initially good results, although a cure is unlikely. Cats with the disease generally live about six months. In general, the younger and healthier the cat, the more likely a full recovery. A specialist may be able to provide newer drugs and experimental treatments.
Surgery is sometimes recommended, although this is usually in order remove an immediate, life threatening problem caused by lymphoma. Radiation may also be used in extremely localized sites.
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- Photo Credit Flickr- squashbottomcat- CCA-NC-ND, Flickr- crostinidesigns- CCA-NC-ND
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Comments
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I am Priscilla and my Mom had to put me down on 1-14-12. I was diagnosed with lymphoma in 3-2010 after many vet trips and a special visit to a university vet center. They gave me 1-2 years to live and despite all the cooking of chicken, pork tenderloin and other delicasies, I didn't quite make it two years. After the diagnosis, I took chemo pills (originally Leukeran and later CCENU) but I also took pred and a small slice of famotadine everyday. I am and will always be the cutest thing on four feet ever but my Mom misses me terribly. Good luck to any other felines and their parents if you have lymphoma. Please cook unseasoned chicken, pork, beef, or seafood and see if some weight comes back. When I was diagnosed in 3-2010, I weighed 4.5 pounds. Mom had me up almost to 8 pounds at one point but the last time I weighed in (I'd quit eating for a while), I was still at a solid fighting weight of 6.5. May your parents love you as much as my mom loves me!
