Epithelial Cutaneous Lymphoma in a Dog

Although, according to caninecancerawareness.org, canine lymphoma, also called lymphosarcoma, is the third most prevalent cancer in dogs, the epithelial cutaneous version is extremely rare. Lymphoma is cancer of the lymphocytes, the immune system B and T cells that work to keep bodily invaders at bay. In epithelial cutaneous lymphoma, an abnormal proliferation of cells arises spontaneously in the skin and mucus membranes, quickly becoming malignant and metastasizing (spreading) to distant areas of the body. Prognosis is deemed poor.

Significance

Standard lymphoma typically presents in dogs between the ages of 6 and 9; however, dogs of all ages are susceptible. Although there is no gender predilection, it tends to strike specific breeds, such as boxers, golden retrievers and German shepherds. Veterinary medicine has yet to understand its cause. In the case of epithelial cutaneous lymphoma, the age of onset is around 11 years, with no breed specificity, reports the “American Journal of Pathology.”

Types

There are five different types of lymphosarcoma, dependent upon where the tumor initially arises. There’s skin, bone marrow, gastrointestinal, mediastinal and external forms of the cancer. The category that appears most often is external lymphsarcoma. Veterinarians will see cancer in the outer lymph nodes. Often, the only indication of disease are enlarged lymph nodes at the knees, shoulders or neck.

Symptoms

When lymphosarcoma begins in the skin, it is called cutaneous lymphosarcoma. Skin on cutaneous lymphosarcomic dogs can be very red and scaly. Sometimes, you will see flakes. Lumps just under the skin are not uncommon, and these can form painful ulcers. The animal’s gums and footpads will also show signs of this red, scaly skin. Once symptoms appear, the prognosis is not good. Sick dogs will survive no longer than several months to two years. Although chemotherapy is the treatment of choice, its efficacy is poor. The chemo agent lomustine is showing some limited promise, states Wiley InterScience.

Immune Modulators

Cells that grow out of control and aren’t then checked by the immune system can lead to cancers such as lymphoma. Immune modulators attempt to undo this immune system meltdown, according to dogcancer.net. These modulating agents encourage the body’s immune system to engage, killing the abnormal cells. Immune modulators are not to be confused with the class of medications known as chemotherapeutic agents.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a method of treating many cancers, not just epithelial cutaneous lymphoma. This treatment can be highly toxic, directly targeting the cancer cells and destroying them. Although chemotherapy drugs can greatly diminish the presence of cancer cells in a dog’s system, they cannot fix what is causing the cancer to begin with. According to dogdancer.net, an ideal course of treatment is a combination of chemotherapy and Immune modulator compounds. The chemotherapy can destroy the aberrant cells while the modulators work to get at the cause of the problem.