feline mammary hyperplasia

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Cat Henstridge — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:00:35 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Funny, we called one of our cats with mammary hyperplasia Jordan, hardly surprising really but of course we would have to call them Katie now....or should it be Cat?[/quote]

Thanks Martin! That's very flattering but I am afraid I am not quite in Jordan/Katie's league!

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:12:12 GMT

Funny, we called one of our cats with mammary hyperplasia Jordan, hardly surprising really but of course we would have to call them Katie now....or should it be Cat?

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Cat Henstridge — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:02:14 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]Cat - that's nothing of a story without pictures [/quote]

Ha! No can do I'm afraid, uni was a while ago now and before the age of digital cameras! It does mean that FMH will always have a special place in my heart though!

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:14:47 GMT

[quote user="Cat Henstridge"]As an aside, I once went to a fancy dress party with the theme 'Clinical diseases' (yes, we were that cool at uni) as Feline Mammary Hyperplasia.......[/quote]

Cat - that's nothing of a story without pictures

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Cat Henstridge — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:38:05 GMT

I have also used Alizin to good effect on a cat with this problem (called Jordan!), I think I injected her weekly for about a month. I contacted Bristol Vet School's feline department about the doses and they were very helpful.

As an aside, I once went to a fancy dress party with the theme 'Clinical diseases' (yes, we were that cool at uni) as Feline Mammary Hyperplasia.......

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:15:42 GMT

I've used Alizin with spectacular and rapid results in 2 cats with dramatic and painful fibrodenomatous mammary hyperplasia. I cant honestly remember the dose but as I contacted Virbac's technical service, the advise on dose above by Alex Allen should be correct. Neither of my patients required a subsequent course as they resolved within 3-5 days. Get 'em to sign and off licence consent form though.

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Alex Allen — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:28:23 GMT

[quote user="Thomas Ward"]using alizin 10-15mg/kg/day s/c on days 1, 2 and 7.[/quote]

Please note this the Pyometra protocol and not the recommended protocol for Feline mammary fibroadenomatosis hyperplasia - see above.

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Tom Ward — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:26:37 GMT

There was a lecture given on Friday at BSAVA this year about this condition by Susan Little. She suggested OVH and if required, using alizin 10-15mg/kg/day s/c on days 1, 2 and 7. Apparently it may take weeks to months before you see a noticeable response though. If you're a BSAVA member you can read the article through their website - it was part of the Feline Stream. I don't have any experience of using the drug for this myself though.

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Alex Allen — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:09:03 GMT

Hi Tanya,

Below is an excerpt from our off label guidance document for Aglepristone. Any questions please contact Virbac's tech services.

aallen 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

MEDICAL TREATMENT OF FELINE FIBROADENOMATOUS MAMMARY HYPERPLASIA

Fibroadenomatous mammary hyperplasia (FAMH) is a benign hormonal induced change of the feline mammary tissue, characterised by a marked increase in size of one or multiple mammary glands often associated with high serum levels of progesterone. The exact pathogenesis is not fully understood but progesterone or progestagens have been shown to induce the hyperplastic changes. By using Aglepristone the mammary tissue’s progesterone receptors are blocked and the condition controlled. Regression of the condition is usually seen in 1 to 4 weeks of treatment. Pregnancy must be ruled out prior to treatment with Alizin as aglepristone is a known abortive drug.

In a follow up study, Jurka & Max (2009) complete remission of the disease occurred on average by 3.9 weeks. 4 of 6 queens subsequently mated had normal pregnancies with no signs of recurrence. Any signs of FAMH occurring some months after the first presentation should be treated as a new disease and not a relapse. Treatment may take >4 weeks if a depot progestagen has been administered.

DOSE: 10mg/kg on days 1 and 2 on weeks 1 to 4 according to response

References:

1. Wehrund A et al. Treatment of feline mammary fibroadenomatous hyperplasia with a progesterone antagonist. Vet Rec 2001;148:46-347.

2. Gorlinger S et al. Treatment of fibroadenomatous hyperplasia in cats with aglepristone. J Vet Intern Med. 2002 Nov-Dec;16(6):710-3.

3. Jurka P and Max A. Treatment of fibroadenomatosis in 14 cats with aglepristone – changes in

blood parameters and follow-up. Vet Rec 2009; 165: 657-660.

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:15:26 GMT

As Dagmar says, algepristone ('Alizin') has been recommended - I've used this once in a male cat with the same condition a few years ago and it resolved after a couple of weeks having been really ulcerated to start with and appeared to get worse for first couple of days when just given amox/clav.

Easy to see with hindsight, but I suspect the Delvosteron (depo-progestagen) will have made things worse as condition is thought to be due to excessive progesterone levels and delvosteron can cause the condition in its own right - might mean would take longer after spaying to resolve than you would have liked, so I would probably go with anti-progesterone:

Doses of 'Alizin' I've seen are:

10mg/kg SC twice weekly or 20 mg/kg SC once weekly for 1-4 weeks, or 10mg/kg SC daily for 4-5 days. Virbac are very helpful and if you ring the technical support, they might be able to advise further on up-to-date suggestions for dosing in cats (and also if any problems have been reported to them with these).

Re: feline mammary hyperplasia

Dagmar Steele — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:44:25 GMT

there is a paper on this subject here: http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/sevc/2010/lectures/eng/Romagnoli1.pdf

you will have to register but it is free. The part on the treatment goes like this:

Feline mammary hypertrophy can be treated by surgery (ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomy), mastectomy or both, and by immediate withdrawal of synthetic progestin therapy. However, performing surgery when the condition is full-blown may lead to potentially fatal complications (11). In general, mammary swelling regresses completely within 3-4 weeks following spaying (13). However, while full mammary growth usually happens quickly, regression can be slow, requiring up to five months after neutering for total disappearence of the lesions (11). When mammary hypertrophy occurs following progestogen administration, signs typically do not subside immediately following neutering or withdrawal of progestin therapy (14). In such cases, surgical removal of persisting nodules should be considered in order to perform histology and rule out presence of neoplasia.

Recently, it was shown that the condition is responsive to targeted endocrine therapy with progesterone antagonists i.e. progesterone receptor blockers such as aglepristone (13, 15), which may be an option also for cats treated with long-acting progestogens. Although dose regimens for aglepristone in cats have not been reported, anecdotal treatments with 15 mg/kg are known to be effective as abortifacients or in case of a pyometra. Dosages for mammary hypertrophy may need to be higher or prolonged in time depending on whether it is a spontaneous disease or if it is due to progestogen administration.

hope this helps!