Question: My dog was recently diagnosed with lymphosarcoma, but he has this cancer in his skin. I have read online about lymphosarcoma, and everything I read says it affects the lymph nodes, not the skin, like my dog. Can you explain this further?
Answer: It sounds to me like your dog has been diagnosed with cutaneous lymphosarcoma, which is also referred to as Mycosis Fungoides. This is an unusual presentation of a common type of cancer that we see in canine patients. As you describe, usually patients diagnosed with lymphosarcoma have enlarged lymph nodes. Only 5 percent of patients diagnosed with lymphosarcoma have the cutaneous form of this disease.
Lymphosarcoma or lymphoma is cancer of lymphoid tissue. There are lymph nodes that are present outside and inside the body. Usually when lymphoma is present, the lymph nodes become enlarged and this is the first symptom noticed. With cutaneous lymphoma, the lymphoid follicles present in the skin become affected. When this tissue becomes affected, we see things in the skin that are abnormal. Dogs with cutaneous lymphoma can have patchy hair coats, white flaky skin, raised red bumps in the skin, itchiness, overall redness in the skin, or discoloration of the skin. Sometimes the lymph nodes are also enlarged.
The diagnosis of cutaneous lymphoma is made by performing a biopsy of the skin. Treatment of this disease is with chemotherapy. The goal of treatment is make the patient more comfortable by eliminating the symptoms of the disease, by destroying cancer cells in the skin with chemotherapy. Cutaneous lymphoma can be a challenging disease to treat, and, unfortunately, remission rates are lower than in dogs with the more common types of lymphosarcoma. The good news is that patients with cutaneous lymphoma generally have cancer that is only confined to the skin. This disease is usually not present in internal organs. Patients tend to have symptoms related to their skin, but tend to continue to feel well. They usually have good appetite and activity levels. If the cutaneous component of the disease is controlled with therapy, their quality of life continues to be good.
Dr. Correa
Board Certified in Oncology
Animal Cancer Care Clinic
www.AnimalCancerCareClinic.com
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