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Hair nicotine concentration of cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and unaffected control cases
Author(s) -
Smith Victoria,
Knottenbelt Clare,
Watson David,
Mellor Dominic J,
Guillen Martinez Alexandra,
Philp Helen,
Keegan Sarah,
Marrington Mary,
Giannasi Chiara,
Cave Tom,
McBrearty Alix Rebecca
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.105564
Subject(s) - cats , lymphoma , medicine , biomarker , nicotine , case control study , gastroenterology , histopathology , pathology , physiology , biology , biochemistry
Background A previous study showed an association between owner‐reported exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and lymphoma in cats. This study aimed to investigate the association between ETS exposure and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats, using hair nicotine concentration (HNC) as a biomarker. Methods This was a prospective, multi‐centre, case–control study. Gastrointestinal lymphoma was diagnosed on cytology or histopathology. Hair samples were obtained from 35 cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and 32 controls. Nicotine was extracted from hair by sonification in methanol followed by hydrophilic interaction chromatography with mass spectrometry. Non‐parametric tests were used. Results The median HNC of the gastrointestinal lymphoma and control groups was not significantly different (0.030 ng/mg and 0.029 ng/mg, respectively, p=0.46). When the HNC of all 67 cats was rank ordered and divided into quartiles, there was no significant difference in the proportion of lymphoma cases or controls within these groups (p=0.63). The percentage of cats with an HNC≥0.1 ng/mg was higher for the lymphoma group (22.9%) than the control group (15.6%) but failed to reach significance (p=0.45). Conclusion A significant association was not identified between HNC (a biomarker for ETS) and gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats; however, an association may exist and further studies are therefore required.