Epidemiological Data Concerning Canine Lymphoma over a Ten-Year Period (2005-2014), in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Abstract

Lymphoma is one of the main neoplasms that affects dogs, representing 80-90% of all hematopoietic tumors and 8-9% of all tumors. In the current paper we assessed the incidence of canine lymphomas that were diagnosed in the Pathology Department (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania) over a ten-year period (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014).The epidemiological data were collected from the records of the Pathology Department (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in the last decade. The investigation included dogs diagnosed with lymphoma, following necropsy analysis or assessment of biopsies or cytological samples collected by fine needle aspiration from lymph nodes. All collected specimens were analyzed for histopathological diagnosis. We analyzed the distribution of canine lymphoma in relation to age, breed and sex, as well as the proportion of each anatomical form of lymphoma. The highest prevalence of lymphoma was observed in dogs aged 6 to 9, in Mongrels, Rottweiler and German shepherd dogs, with a very small difference between males and females. 79.8% of the dogs in this study were diagnosed with multicentric lymphoma, 5.76% with the gastrointestinal form, 5.76% with the cutaneous form, 4.8% were extranodal lymphomas and 3.84% were mediastinal ones. The results we obtained are agree with the statistics cited in the research literature. Considering that canine lymphoma is a common tumor in individuals of various ages, sexes and breeds, further epidemiological reports may aid in the establishment of the main risk factors for this entity.

Breed prevalence of canine lymphoma in South Africa

“…In terms of the age data, the median age for the CP lymphoma population was 6.5 years (mean 7.3 years), whereas the median age of the IDEXX lymphoma population was 8.0 years (mean 7.7 years). These findings are in agreement with previous studies reporting median and average ages (Blackwood et al 1997 ; Cora et al 2016 ; Day & Whitbread 1995 ; Dobson & Gorman 1993 ; Dorn et al 1967 ; Ernst et al 2016 ; Fournel-Fleury et al 2002 ; Greenlee et al 1990 ; Gruentzig et al 2016 ; Jagielski et al 2002 ; Keller et al 1993 ; Neuwald et al 2014 ; Pastor et al 2009 ; Ponce et al 2010 ; Zemann et al 1998 ). The different age distribution of the IDEXX reference population compared with the IDEXX lymphoma population could be because of increased numbers of animals with lymphoma in the 6.1–9.0 year bracket, as described below.…”

“…Given that numerous environmental agents may play a role in mutagenesis and lymphoma pathogenesis, it is possible that the low incidence of lymphoma in the young of both species could be because of limited exposure to these mutagens during a short lifetime. The finding of an increased OR for the 6.1–9.0 year group in the IDEXX lymphoma population is also in agreement with the peak age brackets reported by other studies (Cora et al 2016 ; Day & Whitbread 1995 ; Dobson & Gorman 1993 ; Ernst et al 2016 ; Gavazza et al 2001 ; Gruentzig et al 2015 ; Merlo et al 2008 ; Neuwald et al 2014 ; Teske 1994 ; Villamil et al 2009 ). These ranges differed slightly from study to study (most likely because of different age structures of the various populations) but generally included the late middle age to early geriatric group.…”

“…Studies from Brazil (Neuwald et al 2014 ), Poland (Sapierzynski et al 2010 ), Romania (Cora et al 2016 ), England and Scotland (Blackwood et al 1997 ) mentioned that some of the above-mentioned breeds appeared to be overrepresented in terms of absolute numbers, but no statistical analysis was performed in terms of comparison with a reference population. An earlier study also stated that no breed predispositions were found when the lymphoma population was compared with numbers of dogs registered at the kennel clubs (Dobson & Gorman 1993 ).…”

“…These findings are similar to the prevalence calculated from the German (0.78%) (Ernst et al 2016 ) and Polish (0.81%) (Jagielski et al 2002 ) studies, with an own clinic population used as reference population in both instances. Other estimates of prevalence in the literature include 0.08% (Edwards et al 2003 ), 0.28% (Priester & McKay 1980 ), 0.58% (Keller et al 1993 ), 1.20% (Villamil et al 2009 ), 2.00% (Gruentzig et al 2016 ) and 2.59% (Cora et al 2016 ). The prevalence may vary depending on the composition of the populations under study and the techniques used to diagnose lymphoma.…”

“…While various epidemiological studies on breed prevalence of canine lymphoma have been conducted in a number of geographic locations in Europe (Blackwood, Sullivan & Lawson 1997 ; Cora et al 2016 ; Dobson & Gorman 1993 ; Edwards et al 2003 ; Ernst et al 2016 ; Gruentzig et al 2015 ; Jagielski et al 2002 ; Merlo et al 2008 ; Pastor et al 2009 ; Sapierzynski et al 2010 ; Teske 1994 ), North America (Dorn, Taylor & Hibbard 1967 ; Dorn et al 1968 ; Keller et al 1993 ; Villamil et al 2009 ; Zemann et al 1998 ) and South America (Neuwald et al 2014 ), very little information exists regarding the situation in South Africa. Observations by one of the authors (F.R.)…”