Lymphoma is the most common hematopoietic cancer of dogs: a malignant proliferation of lymphocytes that usually starts in lymph nodes and causes painless, generalized lymphadenopathy. Leukemia is the same family of disease starting in the bone marrow, and its two ends behave very differently: chronic lymphocytic leukemia is often an incidental finding in an old dog, while acute leukemia kills within weeks. The NAVLE expects you to stage lymphoma, recognize its paraneoplastic hypercalcemia, and tell CLL, acute leukemia and stage V lymphoma apart on a blood smear and a physical exam.
Key facts
Lymphoma-leukemia at a glance- Species and system: dog; hemic and lymphatic system.
- Lymphoma: middle-aged to older dogs; Boxer, Rottweiler and Golden Retriever may be at higher risk. About 80–85% are multicentric. B-cell 60–80%, T-cell 10–38%.
- Classic lymphoma presentation: generalized, nonpainful peripheral lymphadenopathy, with or without lethargy, weight loss or polyuria/polydipsia from hypercalcemia.
- Leukemia: classified as acute (blasts) or chronic (mature cells) and lymphoid or myeloid. CLL is the most common leukemia in dogs.
- Classic CLL presentation: a healthy older dog with a marked lymphocytosis of small, mature lymphocytes on preanesthetic bloodwork.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.