Paraneoplastic syndrome as a prognostic factor in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

Abstract

To evaluate the correlation between paraneoplastic syndrome and clinical outcomes, 54 dogs with multicentric lymphoma that received the same induction chemotherapy, including cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone, were retrospectively analyzed. Paraneoplastic syndrome was defined as a diagnosis of anemia, neutrophilic leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, or hypercalcemia at the first blood examination and cancer cachexia and fever at first presentation in dogs with lymphoma. The complete remission rate and progression-free interval were significantly higher and longer in dogs without paraneoplastic syndrome than in dogs with paraneoplastic syndrome (P = .046 and P = .024), respectively. Anemia was significantly associated with a decreased progression-free interval in univariable Cox regression analysis and decreased survival time in multivariable Cox regression analyses (P = .036 and P = .041). Multivariable Cox regression analyses revealed that dogs with thrombocytopenia had significantly longer survival time (P = .016). These findings indicate that anemia can be a negative prognostic factor and thrombocytopenia can be a positive prognostic factor in canine lymphoma. ? 2021, Veterinary Solutions LLC. All rights reserved.