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Lymphosarcoma This is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in cats. It is a cancer of the lymphocytes (a type of blood cell) and lymphoid tissues. Lymphoid tissue is normally present in many places in the body including lymph nodes, spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. Types of Lymphosarcoma Lymphosarcoma can be divided into several different forms, which depend upon the primary site of the tumor. · Gastrointestinal tract: The most common form is involvement of the gastrointestinal tract. This includes the stomach, intestines and liver as well as some of the lymph nodes surrounding the intestines. · Mediastinal: The mediastinum is a term used for a special aggregation of lymphoid tissue in the chest. · Renal lymphosarcoma: The kidneys may be the primary sites of involvement. · Bone marrow: If the cancer were confined to the bone marrow, we would call this leukemia. The signs that we see in cats are usually related to the decreased numbers of normal cells (such as red blood cells that carry oxygen, white blood cells that fight infection and platelets that help with clotting) which are made in the bone marrow. Anemia, infections and bleeding are common problems. · Other sites: We will occasionally see other sites such as the skin, nose, brain, and spinal cord as the primary site of involvement. Symptoms · weight loss, diarrhea and vomiting · respiratory difficulties · Decreased appetite · Swelling of the lymph nodes in the groin, neck, chest and armpit Treatments · Medical Tests & Diagnosis · Computed tomography (CT) is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation.
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