What You Need To Know About Feline Intestinal Lymphoma: VLOG 98

– There’s low grade or small cell lymphomaand then there is high grade
or large cell lymphoma. And they’re really quite distinct
in how cats will present. Welcome back to the
cats quick notes versionwhere I’m breaking this up and giving you,a little mini series on
everything you need to knowabout cat lymphoma. This is the second in the series,so if you missed number
one, be sure to go back,I’ll put a link below to vlog number 97. In this one, we’re gonna be talking aboutthe most common form of lymphoma,gastrointestinal lymphoma. Let’s dive in but stay tunedif you wanna know about
things like nasal lymphomaor renal lymphoma, we’re
gonna about those as well. So let’s hop in,let’s talk about gastrointestinal
lymphoma in cats. Okay, number three we’re
gonna be talking aboutgastrointestinal lymphoma. And I think there’s two thingsthat I really want you to know about that,is that there’s two distinct forms,there’s low grade or small cell lymphomaand then there’s high grade
or large cell lymphoma. And they are really quite
distinct in how cats will present. Both forms of the disease will
cause cats to lose weight,have vomiting, diarrheaand then some degree
of changes in appetite,so they may completely not
eat or they maybe pickyor not wanna eat the same foodbut it can usually vomiting,
diarrhea, weight lossand then changes in appetite to anorexia. You can have one of those
or you can have all of thoseand still end up with a
diagnosis of lymphoma. Cats that have the low grade lymphoma,the small cell lymphoma,it’s usually more of a chronic diseasethat is developing over months,usually with what like
three to six months,so it is a much more slowly
developing disease process. Cats with high grade lymphoma,those cats tend to get sicker, quicker,and usually that is a
rapidly progressing cancerand those cats are getting
sick over days to weeks. We’re making the diagnosis
much more quicklyand we are starting a more aggressiveinjectable chemotherapy much more quicker. So what I think is confusing
for a lot of pet ownersis usually when you start
googling about lymphoma,if your cat has small
cell low grade lymphomaand you start reading the stuff
about high grade lymphoma,which is the more common
form, it gets confusingbecause we use different
chemotherapy protocolsand the prognosis is different. So, I really just wanna
make that distinctionthat a high grade and a low
grade lymphomas are different. You know, one is a more
slowly developing disease,the other one is much
more quickly developingand sometimes it’s more challengingto confirm the diagnosis in catswith small cell low grade lymphoma. It’s often very difficultto distinguish from
inflammatory bowel disease. Those kitties often need biopsies,usually surgical biopsies
or endoscopic biopsies. And cats with a high grade lymphoma,we do ultrasounds and often we can docytology ultrasound guided aspirants. So, they’re not the same beast,even though they’re all called lymphoma. So I think that’s a really
important thing to understandwhen we’re talking about
gastrointestinal lymphoma. The other thing and I thinkand there are studies to
back this up, is you know,I think one of the things
that is frustrating,is all too often we think
that vomiting is normaland I think that a lot of pet
owners, often make excusesthat we say, the cat just eats too fastor that he’s always done thisor they have a sensitive stomach. Maybe their cat is just a nervous eaterand that’s why they’re vomitingor they have a long haired coatand they’re just vomiting up hairballs. But vomiting is not normal. And, you know, there are
studies that look at catsthat have vomiting and I looked
at cats that had vomitingmore than two times per
month for three months,or small bowel diarrhea,
or weight loss of a poundin the last six months. And those cats went on
and had some abnormalitieson their ultrasound, and then went onand had surgical biopsies. And this was a study
that came out in 2013,and they looked at 100 cats
and 99 of those hundred catswith chronic signs of vomiting,
diarrhea or weight loss,that I described, in
an abnormal ultrasoundthat went on and had surgery. 99 of those hundred catseither had inflammatory
bowel disease or lymphoma. Most of those cats at the
small cell low grade lymphoma,a few did have high
grade lymphoma as well. But it really just goes to emphasizethat vomiting is not normal. Weight loss is not not normal. Diarrhea is not normal. And it’s one of those things
where I think it’s importantthat we weigh our cats regularly. We get them in to and sometimes actuallylike circle on a calendar,how many times a month they’re vomitingbecause I think that can really highlightthat it’s not as normal as we think. So again, and that study was greaterthan two times per month
for three months minimumand that was one of the
triggers to get an ultrasoundand look for thickened intestines. So, again, you’re gonna
talk to your oncologistor your veterinarian about the high gradeversus the low grade. But I just wanted to make
that important distinction,that there are two different entities,high grade lymphomas typically treatedwith an IV chemotherapy. There are some oral forms,
I’m gonna do my next vlogon the chemotherapy treatment
options but low grade lymphomais usually managed with
steroids and oral chemotherapy. So, again, they’re very distincteven though they’re called lymphomaand I know that can be very confusing. The other thing I want
you to know about lymphomais there are other
locations that we see it. It’s not just the GI tract. So what are some of the
other locations that we see?So we often see it in this,
the nasal sinus cavityand believe it or not,
that’s one of the best placesthat your cat can have it. Why is that?Because those cats typically
have the best prognosis. We can see it in the kidneys. We can see it in the liver. We can see it in the
central nervous system,so like the spinal cord,
occasionally the brain as well. So again, there are
these white blood cellscirculating throughout
the body, so potentially,we can see it anywhere in the body,but gastrointestinal tract
is the most common place. But, the prognosis has been
associated with the locationso that is going to be one
of the important things. So it’s not just the
gastrointestinal tract, like I said,there are other locations as
well and often multiple places. And I should mention when I talk aboutthe gastrointestinal tract,
it often will involvethose lymph nodes that are, you know,near the GI tract as well in the abdomen. Sometimes those cats will have
liver and spleen involvementand that will still be considered
part of the GI lymphoma. There are some cats that
will just have liver lymphomaand that is distinct. Some cats will just have kidney lymphomaand interesting those
kitties with kidney lymphomaoften will then progressand go into the central nervous system. So a lot of you know unique thingsthat you’re gonna wanna
talk to your oncologistor your veterinarian about. I always put linkson where you can find a
veterinary specialist,because I do think it is
worthwhile to try to talk to themor always talk to your veterinarianand see if they can guide you, you know,with that referral and getting
that information as well. So that was the third and the fourth thingin my little mini series on cat lymphoma. Be sure to join me next week
where we’ll live talkingabout the prognosis or,
you know, when you walk in,you really wanna know how is my catgoing to do with lymphoma. So we’re gonna be talking
about the prognosis for catsthat get treated, and cats
that don’t get treated,and some of the prognostic factors,which are some of the things
that we can do to help youpredict how your cat may do
before they start treatment,and then as you’re
going through treatment. So those are the predictive factors. So be sure to join me next week. Thanks so much for watching. Please don’t forget to subscribeand share this video with someonethat you think may benefit
from the information. I so appreciate you joiningand I look forward to seeing
you in our next video.