Clinico-hematological findings of leukemia in dogs Masand Rupali, Gupta Kuldip*, Mohindroo Jitender1 Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab-141 004, India 1Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary Science, GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab-141 004, India *Address for Correspondence Kuldip Gupta, Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science, GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab-141 004, India, E-mail: kgupta1968@gmail.com
Online Published on 2 January, 2024. Abstract Leukemia is a malignant disorder of hemopoietic progenitor cells resulting in elevation of blast cells in the blood circulation and/or bone marrow. A total of sixteen cases of leukemiain dogs comprised of thirteen cases of lymphoid lineage and three cases of myeloid lineage were recorded. The age of dogs varied from 1.5 months-12.5 years. Nine cases were recorded in male and seven in female dogs. The highest occurrence of leukemia was recorded in Labrador Retriever and Rottweiler breeds. Haematological examination of affected animals revealed anaemia, leukocytosis with neutrophilia and monocytosis in myeloid leukaemia, whereas, lymphocytic leukocytosis in lymphoid leukemia cases. Increased total bilirubin, aspartate transferase, alanine transferase, gamma glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine; and decreased total protein and albumin were recorded on serum biochemistry. Ultrasonography showed metastasis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia to spleen, liver and lymph nodes. On cytology, presence of blasts cells along with occasional mature cells were observed. One dog having acute lymphoblastic leukemia died and necropsied thoroughly revealing metastasis to different visceral organs and their histopathological examination also revealed infiltration of the lymphoblasts in the visceral organs. It was concluded that leukemia was more common in middle aged dogs and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (75%) was more common in dogs as compared to other leukemia. The mean survival of dogs suffering from leukemia was found to be fair to marked. Top Keywords Leukemia, Leukocytosis, Neutrophilia. Top |