Lymphoma in cats

Lymphoma (malignant lymphoma, lymphosarcoma) is a lymphoid malignancy that originates from solid organs (e.g., lymph nodes, liver, spleen); this distinguishes lymphomas from lymphoid leukemias, which originate in the bone marrow.

It has been reported that approximately 70% of cats with lymphoma have feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection. Although the prevalence of viremia in cats with lymphoma varies with the anatomic form of presentation, in general, young cats with lymphoma are FeLV positive, whereas older cats are FeLV negative. However, over the past few years, the prevalence of FeLV infection in cats with lymphoma has been decreasing.

Feline immunodefiency virus (FIV) infection increases the risk of developing lymphoma in cats; cats infected with FIV are almost six times more likely to develop lymphoma than non-infected cats, whereas cats coinfected with FeLV and FIV are more than 75 times more likely to develop lymphoma than noninfected cats.

The age of cats with lymphoma at the time of presentation is bimodal, with the first peak occurring in cats that are approximately 2 years of age and the second one occurring in cats that are approximately 10 to 12 years of age. The cats that make up the first peak are mainly FeLV positive, whereas those that make up the second peak are predominantly FeLV negative.

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