Canine lymphoma: Diagnostics and treatment

Lymphoma in dogs is a heterogenous group of lymphoid neoplasms. As we move beyond just categorizing lymphoma as either B cell or T cell, it appears that some lymphoma subtypes may have different treatment recommendations and prognoses that may impact decision making for pet owners. In this session, review commonly used diagnostics for canine lymphoma. Understand when to use ancillary diagnostics—such as lymph node histology with immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and PCR antigen receptor rearrangement (PARR)—to identify subtypes of lymphoma to better gauge patient prognosis. You’ll also learn about treatment options for high-grade lymphoma and newer therapies such as Tanovea and Laverdia-CA1.

This session originally was presented at AVMA Convention 2023.

Learning objectives:  

• Recognize when lymph node biopsies, flow cytometry, and molecular diagnostics such as PARR can be helpful in the diagnosis of canine lymphoma.
• Review current recommendations for treatment of high-grade lymphoma in dogs.
• Discuss indications, benefits, and side effects of new therapies for lymphoma.

Dr. Jenna Burton earned her DVM from The Ohio State University. She completed her internship and medical oncology residency at Colorado State University (CSU). Since 2020 she has served as the oncology service chief at CSU’s Flint Animal Cancer Center. Previously, she was the director of CSU’s Oncology Clinical Trials Service and director of the Veterinary Center for Clinical Trials at the University of California. Her research interests in veterinary oncology include canine and feline lymphoma, comparative oncology, and clinical trial design and conduct.