Buy term paper on Canine Lymphoma

Treatment. Usually, the diagnosis of lymphoma is a complex task that includes the use of multiple different tests to exclude other ordinary disease. The veterinarian should collect blood and urine for analysis of pathologies, the identification of signs of other diseases, and to assess the activities of bodies. This is important not only for eliminating the possibility of other diseases, but also to assess the state of the animal before the course of treatment. Radiographs and ultrasound are used for the detection of lymphoma, which are inaccessible while the physical examination, such as lymphoma, affecting the spleen or gastrointestinal tract. In the end, tissue samples are taken lymph nodes or organs and viewed under a microscope for cancer cells (Nyland 2002).
The selection of the program of treatment depends on the type of lymphoma and the patient’s condition. Chemotherapy is used for the treatment of lymphoma. The chemotherapy protocols include drugs such as cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, prednisolone. Treatment consists of two parts:
– Chemotherapy itself: the injection of cytostatic drugs (drugs that suppress the growth of tumor cells);
– The treatment of complications, which cause cytostatics. Chemotherapeutic medicine not only suppresses tumor growth, but also damages virtually all normal tissues. First of all, quickly updated cells of the digestive tract, bone marrow, hair follicles, etc. are affected. The treatment of complications of chemotherapy is varied and depends on their manifestations in each dog (Bean 2002).
The frequency and mode of administration of chemotherapy drugs depend on the chosen treatment regimens. Usually clinics use intravenous injection of cytostatics 1 time in 3 weeks. Question on the number of courses required for stable remission is the most complicated among veterinary oncologists and there is no consensus about it now. The problem lies in the so-called “drug resistance”, which occurs in tumor cells after discontinuation of treatment. It turns out that when the disease returns, then those drugs that were used in the first stage, are no longer able to suppress tumor growth, and others should be picked up.
The main purpose of treatment of lymphoma in dogs is to increase the duration and quality of life of the patient. With the help of chemotherapy it is usually possible to achieve remission of disease with the duration 6-8 months. According to statistics, the average life expectancy in the application of chemotherapy is 9-12 months. Some veterinarians are sure that if the dog’s general condition is bad, sometimes it is better to use only prednisolone. Use of prednisolone in mono can improve the condition of the animal with lymphoma, but does not affect life expectancy. Average life expectancy for such treatment is 1-2 months (Miller 2009).
Thus, the treatment of canine lymphoma consists of chemotherapy. Lymphoma is considered to be a systemic disease that makes surgery and irradiation impractical and inefficient. There are a wide variety of chemotherapy protocols and drugs that are currently used for treatment of lymphoma. Chemotherapy usually consists of a combination of injectable drugs, introduced weekly and drugs used orally. Many protocols of chemotherapy include commonly used drugs, such as cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisolone. Chemotherapy can change the course of treatment, depending on performance. The protocol of the University of Wisconsin is one of the most popular among the veterinary oncologists. Most veterinarians can assign chemotherapy and successfully manage it, but initially it is better for the owners of dogs to seek the advice of veterinary oncologists who is able to offer further guidance and information for treatment (Freedman 2005).
There is also a need to show the overview of epidemiology of cancer in dogs, made of materials, written by Kelsey, Moore, and Glickman (Kelsey1998).
Nearly 2/3 of American households have at least one dog.
In the U.S., approximately 4 out of every thousand dogs each year are diagnosed with cancer. The most common diagnoses are:
Male dog Female dog
Type of cancer % from the total Type of cancer % from the total
Connective tissue 17 Chest 51
Testicles 16 Connective tissue 9
Skin (melanoma) 14 Skin (melanoma) 8
Maw and Throat 10 Lymphoma 6
Lymphoma 10 Maw and Throat 5
Bone 4 Liver and bile ducts 2
Stomach and intestines 3 Bone 2

Thus, canine lymphoma is a cancer of immune system cells. Lymphoma in dogs is very similar to the humans` lymphoma of non-Hodgkin type. In dogs, this type of tumor usually occurs with age. Males and females exposed to the disease in about equal measure. Sterilization and castration has no effect on the development of the disease, although the pure-bred dogs are a bit more prone to it than half-blood (Kelsey1998).
There is a very weak relationship between the development of canine lymphoma and the use of herbicides. There is also the link between canine lymphoma and electromagnetic fields. Dogs living in homes near high-voltage lines, have the risk of developing lymphoma in 7 times higher than that of the dogs which live far from them.
So, there are several measures to reduce the incidence of cancer (including lymphoma) in dogs. They include:
– Sterilization of female dogs before the first estrus;
– Castration of male dogs with not drooping down testes;
– Limiting contact of dog with drugs from fleas and mites, cigarette smoke and asbestos;
– To avoid dog’s walk on lawns or fields treated with herbicides;
– To avoid spending a lot of time in the zone of strong electromagnetic radiation.
So, canine lymphoma is a type of cancer which affects the immune system. It ranges from 7 to 24% of all tumor processes. It can happen in dogs, cats, ferrets and other animals. The canine lymphoma is a dangerous disease, because according to statistics, the average life expectancy in the application of chemotherapy is only 9-12 months; and without chemotherapy it is just couple months.

References

Bean, Mary. Canine lymphoma: the significance of staging. 2002. pp. 14-15. Print.
Bhang, D., Choi, U., Kim, M. Epitheliotropic cutaneous lymphoma (mycosis fungoides) in a dog. 2006. J Vet Sci 7 (1): 97–9.
Ettinger, Stephen., Feldman, Edward, C. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (4th ed.). W.B. Saunders Company. 1995. pp. 17-19. Print.
Freedman, Jeri. Lymphoma: Current and Emerging Trends in Detection and Treatment. 2005. pp. 32-33. Print.
Kaneene, J., Miller, R. Re-analysis of 2.4-D use and the occurrence of canine malignant lymphoma. Vet Hum Toxicol. 1999. 41 (3). Pp. 164–70. Print.
Kelsey, J.L., Moore, A.S., and Glickman, L.T. Overview of the epidemiology of cancer in dogs. 1998. pp. 45-54. Print.
Lymphoma in the dog. 2000. Retrieved from http://www.marvistavet.com/html/canine_lymphoma.html
Nyland, Thomas G., Mattoon, John S. Small animal diagnostic ultrasound. 2002. pp. 220-221. Print.
Miller, Frederic P., Vandome, Agnes F. Lymphoma in Animals. 2009. pp. 69-71. Print.
Morrison, Wallace B. Lymphoma in dogs and cats. 2004. pp. 29-31. Print.