Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Subleukaemic T-Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in a Horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of comparative pathology
- Year:
- 2021
- Authors:
- Michishita, Masaki et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Pathology · Japan
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding was taken to the vet because he had stopped eating, lost weight, had a fever, was coughing, had swelling under his skin, and was having trouble exercising. Blood tests showed some abnormal cells, low levels of certain white blood cells, and signs of anemia, but no increase in white blood cells. Unfortunately, 22 days later, the horse died after becoming less interested in food, having a higher body temperature, and showing signs of fast breathing and a rapid heartbeat. A thorough examination after death revealed some swelling of the spleen, but no tumors were found in any organs. The tests showed that the horse had a type of cancer called subleukaemic T-lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is the first time this condition has been reported in horses.
Abstract
A 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding was referred with clinical signs of anorexia, weight loss, intermittent fever, cough, subcutaneous oedema and exercise intolerance. Haematological examination revealed the presence of blast cells, decreased lymphocytes, mild thrombocytopenia and anaemia but no leucocytosis. Serum analyses detected elevated aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase activities and triglyceride concentrations. Twenty-two days after the initial visit, the horse died after showing clinical signs of decreased appetite, increased body temperature, tachypnoea and tachycardia. At necropsy, there was mild splenomegaly but enlarged lymph nodes, masses or nodules were not seen in any organ. Histologically, neoplastic cells were seen in the subcapsular and medullary lymph sinus of the mediastinal, axillary, mesenteric and renal lymph nodes. The bone marrow was densely cellular with numerous large round neoplastic cells that had round nuclei with clear nucleoli and scant cytoplasm. The neoplastic cells were immunopositive for CD3 but negative for CD20, BLA36, CD204, Iba-1, CD204 and granzyme B. Based on these findings, the neoplasm was diagnosed as subleukaemic T-lymphoblastic leukaemia, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first report of this neoplasm in horses.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34686273/