Open AccessStage Migration in Dogs with Lymphoma
Author(s) -
Flory Andrea B.,
Rassnick Kenneth M.,
Stokol Tracy,
Scrivani Peter V.,
Erb Hollis N.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of veterinary internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.356
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1939-1676
pISSN - 0891-6640
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2007.tb03062.x
Subject(s) - medicine , stage (stratigraphy) , lymphoma , radiography , radiology , complete blood count , physical examination , canine lymphoma , cytology , bone marrow , surgery , pathology , paleontology , biology
Background : Various diagnostic tests have been used to assign a clinical stage to dogs with lymphoma. As more sensitive staging methods are introduced, dogs are reclassified as having a higher disease stage, thereby affecting comparisons of dogs across differently staged clinical trials, and possibly, prognosis. Hypothesis : The addition of more sensitive staging tests causes stage migration in dogs with lymphoma. Animals : Fifty‐nine client‐owned dogs with previously untreated cytologically or histologically confirmed lymphoma Methods : For every dog, the World Health Organization stage classification (I‐V) was based on 5 groupings of various diagnostic tests: A (physical examination [PE] and quantitative blood count [QBC]), B (PE, QBC, thoracic and abdominal radiographs), C (PE, complete blood count with blood‐smear evaluation [CBC], thoracic and abdominal radiographs), D (PE, CBC, thoracic radiographs, abdominal ultrasound), and E (PE, CBC, thoracic radiographs, abdominal ultrasound, and bone‐marrow cytology). Dogs were treated with doxorubicin‐based protocols. Results : There was migration between all of the staging methods except D to E. However, the stage was not a predictor of remission rate, remission duration, or survival, regardless of staging method used. Conclusions and Clinical Importance : These data emphasized the need for standardized methods to determine the clinical stage in dogs with lymphoma.