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LYMPHOMA IN THE SKIN Lymphoma can arise in any organ that contains lymph tissue (which turns out to be just about anywhere in the body). While lymphoma generally occurs in lymph nodes and in organs with substantial lymphatic system presence, occasionally lymphoma arises in the skin. Skin forms of lymphoma are often itchy and rashy and thus are readily mistaken for allergic dermatitis. Further compounding the difficulty in making the correct diagnosis is the fact that skin superficial skin infections are common not only in allergy situations but in many skin diseases including skin lymphoma so partial responses to antibiotics may be misleading. Lymphoma in the skin would be a rare cause of dermatitis but there has to come a point where biopsy is needed to explain a poor response to the usual therapies. Biopsy is needed to capture the diagnosis of lymphoma.
THREE TYPES: MYCOSIS FUNGOIDES
An oral form also exists where the gums become inflamed and ulcerated. This could also be mistaken for any number of oral diseases and, again, biopsy is needed to find the truth. SEZARY SYNDROME (A VERY RARE COMPLICATION) PAGETOID RETICULOSIS
PROGNOSIS Most pets succomb to euthanasia when there are too many ulcerated growths, too much intractable itching or the infections cannot be controlled. Variable survival times have been reported in different studies but prognosis is generally regarded as poor, with 6 months for dogs and perhaps 10 months for cats, being a good goal. (This contrasts to the human form of the disease which is much more readily controlled with chemotherapy). For many patients, the goal of chemotherapy is not to achieve a longer survival but to improve life quality during a relatively short survival. Most studies report median survival times of 6-7 months.
TREATMENTS Since most tumors arise in groups or involve large areas, surgery or radiotherapy is not going to be effective. Chemotherapy will be needed to reach all the tumors. This might be provided by a single medication like lomustine but could just as likely include a multi-drug combination protocol involving such medications as L-asparaginase, prednisolone, cyclophosphamide, vincristine and/or doxorubicin. Aside from chemotherapy regimens a few less conventional methods have emerged.
Page posted: 4/5/2023 |