Cats with extranodal lymphoma respond to chemotherapy and achieve survival times comparable to other locations. Corticosteroid pretreatment reduced survival time in cats achieving complete remission.

Historically, feline mediastinal lymphoma has been associated with young age, positive feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) status, Siamese breed and short survival times. Recent studies following widespread FeLV vaccination in the UK are lacking. The aim of this retrospective multi-institutional study was to re-evaluate the signalment, retroviral status, response to chemotherapy, survival and prognostic indicators in feline mediastinal lymphoma cases in the post-vaccination era. Records of cats with clinical signs associated with a mediastinal mass and cytologically/histologically confirmed lymphoma were reviewed from five UK referral centres (1998-2010). Treatment response, survival and prognostic indicators were assessed in treated cats with follow-up data. Fifty-five cases were reviewed. The median age was 3 years (range, 0.5-12 years); 12 cats (21.8%) were Siamese; and the male to female ratio was 3.2:1.0. Five cats were FeLV-positive and two were feline immunodeficiency-positive. Chemotherapy response and survival was evaluated in 38 cats. Overall response was 94.7%; complete (CR) and partial response (PR) rates did not differ significantly between protocols: COP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone) (n = 26, CR 61.5%, PR 34.0%); Madison-Wisconsin (MW) (n = 12, CR 66.7%, PR 25.0%). Overall median survival was 373 days (range, 20-2015 days) (COP 484 days [range, 20-980 days]; MW 211 days [range, 24-2015 days] [P = 0.892]). Cats achieving CR survived longer (980 days vs 42 days for PR; P = 0.032). Age, breed, sex, location (mediastinal vs mediastinal plus other sites), retroviral status and glucocorticoid pretreatment did not affect response or survival. Feline mediastinal lymphoma cases frequently responded to chemotherapy with durable survival times, particularly in cats achieving CR. The prevalence of FeLV-antigenaemic cats was low; males and young Siamese cats appeared to be over-represented.

Results of these in vivo human studies indicate that the time course to closure of the disrupted BBB for low-molecular-weight complexes is longer than previously estimated. The barrier is widely open during the first 40 minutes after osmotic BBB disruption and returns to baseline levels only after 6 to 8 hours following the induction of good or excellent disruption. These findings have important clinical implications for the design of therapeutic protocols.

Enhanced methotrexate delivery to the central nervous system can be attained by intra-arterial administration combined with osmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier compared with simple intra-arterial or intravenous administration.

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and intestinal small cell lymphoma (ISCL) are common diseases in cats. The prevalence of alterations in the serum concentrations of fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamin D, in cats with IBD and ISCL is unknown.Hypothesis/ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to measure serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations in cats with IBD or ISCL. Serum 25(OH)D also was measured in healthy cats, and in hospitalized ill cats with nongastrointestinal diseases.AnimalsEighty‐four cats were included in the study: 23 in the healthy group, 41 in the hospitalized ill group, and 20 in the IBD/ISCL group.MethodsRetrospective study. Serum samples for vitamin D analysis were frozen at −20°C until serum 25(OH)D was measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).ResultsAlthough there was overlap in serum 25(OH)D concentrations among the 3 groups, serum 25(OH)D concentrations were significantly lower in the cats with IBD or ISCL compared to healthy cats (P < .0001) and hospitalized ill cats (P = .014). In the IBD/ISCL group, there was a significant moderate positive correlation between serum albumin and 25(OH)D concentrations (r = 0.58, P = .018).Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceThe median serum concentration of 25(OH)D was significantly lower in cats with IBD/ISCL than in healthy cats and in hospitalized ill cats. Additional studies are required to elucidate the mechanism of hypovitaminosis D in cats with gastrointestinal diseases, to define the best management strategy to treat this complication, and to investigate its potential prognostic implications.