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The Prevalence of Malignant Neoplasia in Feline Renal‐Transplant Recipients
Author(s) -
Wooldridge John D.,
Gregory Clare R.,
Mathews Kyle G.,
Aronson Lillian R.,
Kyles Andrew E.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
veterinary surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1532-950X
pISSN - 0161-3499
DOI - 10.1053/jvet.2002.30540
Subject(s) - medicine , immunosuppression , cats , transplantation , complication , medical record , population , kidney transplantation , surgery , gastroenterology , environmental health
Objective— To determine the prevalence of malignant neoplasia in a group of feline renal‐transplant recipients (FRTR). Study Design— Retrospective clinical study. Animals— Ninety‐five consecutive client‐owned FRTR treated at the University of California, Davis, between 1987 and 1997. Methods— Medical records of the 95 cats were examined. The time to occurrence and type of malignant neoplasia, if present, was determined. Results— Nine of 95 cats (9.5%) developed apparently de novo malignant neoplasia after receiving renal allografts. The predominant type of neoplasm was lymphoma. The median time to diagnosis of neoplasia in these 9 patients was 9.0 months after transplantation, whereas the median survival time was 14.0 months after transplantation. This compares with a median survival time of 22 months after transplantation for cats that died for reasons other than development of malignant neoplasia. Conclusions— Although these transplant recipients were not compared with a control population, it would appear that, as in humans, malignant neoplasia is encountered with greater‐than‐expected frequency after renal transplantation and immunosuppression in cats. Clinical Significance— The apparent propensity to develop malignant neoplasia after renal transplantation and immunosuppression in cats is a fatal complication of which owners and clinicians should be aware.