14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 12:18:12 GMT

Sorry, I've been away on holiday in sunny Malta (would recommend it as a holiday destination!)

CYTOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

All lymph nodes sampled: Suggestive of small cell lymphoma

CYTOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION

Six submitted air-dried smears are evaluated. All of the smears
contain similar features. They contain moderate erythrocytes
with many lymphoglandular bodies and many nucleated cells.
There are many in tact cells suitable for evaluation. There is
a markedly homogeneous population of slightly enlarged small
lymphoid cells with dense chromatin and occasional indistinct
nucleoli. The cytoplasm is scant and homogeneous and medium to dark blue. There are very few medium and large lymphoid cells.
No infectious agents or nonlymphoid cells with features of
malignancy are seen.

COMMENT

The cytologic features of all of the lymph nodes sampled are
suggestive of small cell lymphoma. Sometimes atypical features
can occur in reactive lymph nodes in cats, but their presence
in this case and history is suggestive of small cell lymphoma.
If further confirmation of the presence of small cell lymphoma
is desired, considerations may include lymph node biopsy, PARR
on these slides (to differentiate a reactive polyclonal
proliferation from a monoclonal proliferation - reported
sensitivity in cats 70-80%), and/or intestinal biopsies (for
further investigation of reported GI signs).

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

shanley barber — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 20:29:13 GMT

Just curious if you've had the cytology report back yet? The suspension is killing me......

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Gerry Polton — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 13:52:20 GMT

Post the report when you get it and I will let you know what I can infer.

Have a good weekend

Gerry

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 13:47:58 GMT

Thanks Gerry, I've sent the slides off to Idexx for a proper report. If it does turn out to be lymphoma, I don't think the client would be able to afford a CHOP protocol - would prednisolone and chlorambucil be an appropriate alternative?

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Gerry Polton — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 09:16:53 GMT

Not necessarily. Sorry, I realise that should have been more expansive. These (very good) single field views don't show me enough. I need to look at much more of the slide under different magnifications to get a clear picture, and I am not a cytologist, so even if I have done that, you should be cautious about believing what I say. But with the whole lot, I might be able to make a diagnosis and I am confident that a real cytologist could. So I would suggest that the slides are sent for an external opinion before you consider a surgical biopsy. It's true that you might not get a diagnosis but it would be a small cost to add compared to the cost of biopsy if cytology could have told you what you needed to know.

Yours

Gerry

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 09:12:36 GMT

Ok, thanks Gerry. Would you recommend a lymph node biopsy to get full information?

RE: 14 year old cat with generalised lymphadenopathy

Gerry Polton — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 17:42:05 GMT

I feel I should say something but I'm not comfortable commenting on cytology when I can't be sufficiently confident, and I can't here.

Gerry