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Feline lymphoma 1. Principles of diagnosis and management
Author(s) -
Hayes Alison
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inpract.28.9.516
Subject(s) - medicine , life expectancy , intensive care medicine , lymphoma , disease , malignancy , clinical practice , pathology , family medicine , population , environmental health
LYMPHOMA is the most common malignancy in cats and accounts for approximately one‐third of all feline tumours. Feline lymphoma in its various guises is a relatively frequent diagnosis in UK practice. This range of presentations poses a diagnostic challenge for practitioners, and persistence and resourcefulness are often needed to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Furthermore, response to treatment is not always easy to predict as many cats enjoy sustained remission and even cure with practice‐based therapy, while other cases respond poorly and thus have a limited life expectancy. Communicating the evidence to an owner while presenting a fair and realistic overview of what is to be expected can be difficult, but this is necessary to achieve informed consent and owner involvement in therapeutic decision‐making. This article discusses diagnostic and management principles for feline lymphoma, and reviews the current literature on therapy as it pertains to choices in case management in the practice setting. Part 2, to be published in the next issue, will focus on specific disease presentations.