The Comparative Diagnostic Features of Canine and Human Lymphoma

Abstract

The non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogeneous family of lymphoid malignancies that are among the most common neoplasms of both dogs and humans. Owing to shared molecular, signaling, incidence, and pathologic features, there is a strong framework supporting the utilization of canine lymphoma as a comparative, large animal model of human NHL. In alignment with the biologic similarities, the current approach towards the diagnosis and classification of canine lymphoma is based upon the human World Health Organization guidelines. While this approach has contributed to an increasing appreciation of the potential biological scope of canine lymphoma, it has also become apparent that the most appropriate diagnostic philosophy must be multimodal, namely by requiring knowledge of microscopic, immunophenotypic, and clinical features before establishing a final disease diagnosis. This review seeks to illustrate the comparative similarities and differences in the diagnosis of canine lymphoma through the presentation of the microscopic and immunophenotypic features of its most common forms.

Evaluation of a multi‐agent chemotherapy protocol combining dexamethasone, melphalan, actinomycin D, and cytarabine for the treatment of resistant canine non‐Hodgkin high‐grade lymphomas: a single centre's experience

“…Potentially, different histotypes (which were poorly characterized in this study) may have driven response making immunophenotype less relevant. However, given that the predominant histotypes are likely to be diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma and peripheral T‐cell lymphoma not otherwise specified this seems unlikely . A more plausible, albeit hypothetical, explanation is that immunophenotype may play a minimal role in the response to rescue protocols in heavily pre‐treated lymphomas where acquired resistance mechanisms are more relevant than phenotype.…”

“…The computerized clinical database of the Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, was searched for dogs treated with the DMAC protocol from January 2007 to August 2017. To be eligible for this study, patients had to meet the following inclusion criteria: cytological or histological diagnosis of high‐grade cNHL; multi‐centric disease; assessment of response based on peripheral lymph node size; progressive disease (PD) prior to starting the DMAC protocol. Patients who did not receive melphalan (week 2) because of PD and protocol discontinuation after week 1 of the protocol were not excluded.…”

CAR T Cell Immunotherapy in Human and Veterinary Oncology: Changing the Odds Against Hematological Malignancies

“…Specifically, DLBCL is the most common subtype of lymphoma in both species (54), and it is the subtype most studied with genomic profiling in veterinary medicine (47). Utilizing immunohistochemistry and gene expression profiling, similar profiles were noted between human and canine DLBCL, and certain markers were able to separate the canine DLBCL cases into two groups with significantly different clinical outcomes (7). Provided this robust and expanding body of data supporting the parallels between the most common types of human and canine lymphoma, the opportunities for therapeutic development in one species to inform and progress that in the other species will only continue to grow.…”

“…Over 700 potential Investigative New Drug applications are in the queue for cellular and/or gene therapy applications (6) demonstrating the sustained future for these classes of drugs in the therapeutic pipeline. B cell neoplasms are the most common hematopoietic cancer in both humans and dogs (7). In canines, genetic background can impact disease onset and progression as some breeds show a substantially higher risk of this blood disease, including 11 small-breed dogs, with English bulldogs presenting years earlier than the overall cohort (8).…”

Barking up the right tree: advancing our understanding and treatment of lymphoma with a spontaneous canine model

“…These mice lack complex genetic and gene-environment effects and their immunoincompetence ignores a central mechanism of cancer risk and development. In contrast, pet dogs naturally develop lymphoma at a higher incidence rate than humans (13-114 per 100,000 individuals compared to 20 per 100,000 in humans) [5] and have clinical presentations and diagnostic features comparable to that in people [6]. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype in humans and dogs, accounting for ∼70% of canine B-cell lymphomas [5].…”