A retrospective descriptive study of colorectal large or intermediate cell lymphoma in cats managed with surgical resection and/or medical management.

ObjectivesThe current standard-of-care treatment for feline gastrointestinal intermediate- or large-cell lymphoma is systemic chemotherapy. There is some evidence that feline lymphoma patients with a solitary gastrointestinal mass may benefit from excisional surgery followed by chemotherapy; however, most studies of feline gastrointestinal lymphoma combine various stages and anatomical sites of the disease. Studies indicating different behaviour of feline gastrointestinal lymphoma depending on its anatomical location have been published, and significantly longer survival times have been seen in canine colorectal lymphoma. The aim of the present study was therefore to describe the signalment, treatment and outcome of cats with intermediate- or large-cell lymphoma in the colorectal region.MethodsThe medical records of three veterinary hospitals were retrospectively searched for cats diagnosed with a colorectal intermediate- or large-cell lymphoma. The data were collected and subjected to a univariate analysis, and median values were calculated for each of the variables of interest. Median survival times were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsA total of 11 cats were included in the study, with the most common presenting signs being haematochezia, hyporexia, diarrhoea and weight loss. Different treatment strategies and their combinations were used, leading to an overall median survival time of 177 days, with a difference seen between chemotherapy only (29 days) and a combination of surgery and chemotherapy (972 days). Two cats treated with both surgery and chemotherapy were alive at more than 20 months after diagnosis.Conclusions and relevanceThis is the first study to describe specifically cases of cats with intermediate- to large-cell colorectal lymphoma. Even though the number of cases was limited because of the rarity of the disease, the data indicate multimodal treatment might be beneficial in these cases.