Cats and lymphoma

[MyTy]

Hello all -

Has anyone had a cat that responded well to chemo after a diagnosis of lymphoma? Vet tells me that the odds of chemo causing remission are not too good - she mentioned only 1 in 3 show any improvement.

My much-adored boy is 12 years old and is still quite perky (aside from the weight loss that caused me to take him in initially).

I want to do whatever is best for him - at the same time keeping whatever time he has left relatively stress and pain-free.

Thanks in advance for any advice/observations.

[Zu_Zu]

no advice just sending some

Jingles & AO that you two have more time together ~

Wrap him up in “home love” and cherish each day ~

((hugs)) laced with strength and patience for both of you ~

[jen-s]

Lots of jingles!

We’ve got some great vets on the board. I hope they will chime in shortly with good news for you.

[McVillesMom]

Yes, I do have experience with lymphoma, unfortunately. The type and location really affects the prognosis - are we talking about GI lymphoma, I assume, since you mentioned weight loss?

[Beckham03]

Is it large cell or small cell lymphoma? I doubt this is any help, but I see a mixed bag. I see cats that have done well for more then a year and others that really don’t respond well.

Jingles for you and your kitty. I hope you have more time with him.

[Gainer]

I’ve been through it with several cats over the years. If it were my cat, I wouldn’t do chemo. I would just try to make whatever time he has left as happy and comfortable as possible. Sometimes steroids will help for a bit.

I’m really sorry you’re going through this.

[Eventer13]

If you are near a location with veterinary oncologists, it may be worth going in for a consult. They would at the very least be able to give you the most up-to-date statistics on treatment success rates. I think the cost of the consult is worth the peace-of-mind to feel like you made the most informed decision regarding treatment.

And as Beckham03 said, it is also important to know if its small or large cell lymphoma (small cell actually has a high response rate to chemo and a decent prognosis, large cell not so much). I assume you have done biopsies?

So sorry for you and your kitty.

[Nadia]

I have a friend that got 2 .5 years with her cat after chemo… My dog is just finishing a 6 month round of chemo (t cell). We caught it early , and she responded well, after her first round. She has done well, and it has been worth it. It has been harder on me than her. She gets one more treatment and then we wait…Good Luck!

[MyTy]

Thanks for all your kind responses!

Not sure if this is large or small-cell lymphoma; the ultrasound results say “mesenteric lymphadenopathy - measuring up to 4.5 cm x 1.5 cm” and “focal areas of jejunum thickening”. Perhaps one of you can translate?

I think I’m going to go ahead and schedule a consult at least - we do have several oncologists that are local. If chemo seems like it may be worth a shot I am willing to try…this cat is very dear to me.

[McVillesMom]

Wow, those are some big nodes!

Mesenteric lymphadenopathy means that the lymph nodes in the mesentery (the membrane that sort of holds all of the small intestine to the body wall) are enlarged. Sometimes that can be reactive (to some other disease process) but given the size of them I, too, would strongly suspect lymphoma. Focal areas of jejunal thickening means that the wall of the jejunum (part of the small intestine - the part between the duodenum, which attaches to the stomach, and the ileum, which attaches to the colon) is thickened, in specific areas.

Ideally, GI biopsies would be performed (from what you’ve said so far, I’m assuming you haven’t done that at this point) - they will give you the most information about what’s going on. Unfortunately with the location of the thickening, that would require an abdominal exploratory (sometimes you can get biopsies endoscopically, but you can’t reach the jejunum that way). The advantage to exploratory over endoscopy is that you can sample all areas of the intestinal tract (and given that the thickened area is the jejunum, I would definitely want to investigate that), and you can get full-thickness samples, which is more informative than just the inner portion of the intestine.

I would definitely consult with an oncologist; I don’t know the statistics of remission and survival times, but I have personally done chemotherapy on one of my cats successfully and have another that just began treatment for what is either IBD or early lymphoma (initial biopsy results point more toward IBD, but further testing is pending so we are covering both bases). In my experience, cats tolerate the chemotherapy quite well - my first cat was on chemo for years (aggressive at first, then less so as time went on) and you would never have known there was anything wrong with him.

Hopefully this was helpful to you - let me know if there’s anything else I can do! Best wishes to your kitty!

[Beckham03]

I’m surprised they didn’t aspirate the lymph nodes and submit a flow cytology to confirm diagnosis and type. I would at least still get the consult with the oncologist. They will want the aspirates. Most of the time, you can get the info you need on lymphoma from the aspirates, but on occasion, biopsies are needed. With the consult you can use that information to decide on the best choice for your family and your kitty and what is involved to move forward.

[MyTy]

Thanks so much, Nancy and Beckham 03! I really appreciate you both taking the time to respond.

There is involvement with his liver also - scan results indicated hepatic lipidosis and cholangiohepatitis, as well as lymphoma.

Next step is definitely going to be a consult with an oncologist. (As soon as we can dig out from the monster snowfall!)

Poor Arthur is so hungry and skinny, but won’t eat much. I actually started feeding him with a syringe this morning, which seemed to help.

Thanks again - will update when I am able to get more news.

[horsenut_8700]

I have a housesitting client who has a cat that had GI lymphoma. I don’t know anything more specific, but they pursued chemo and 3 years later he is still in remission at 15 years old. I think that is the exception rather than the rule unfortunately.

[SquishTheBunny]

My cat went nearly 3 years with lymphoma. We have an ontology unit at our vet clinic and while many people opt not to do chemo on cats because of the travel stresses etc, most of the ones who receive chemo do quite well (depending on type of lymphoma). We have had several “cured”, but the vast majority go onto just lengthy (1-4 year) remissions. Some do not have any response unfortunately. Some also do well on prednisone should chemo not be an option. Best of luck and remember it’s not something you have to commit to…do it for a few weeks and see how your cat responds hopefully there will be a good outcome