Lymphocyte blastogenesis in dogs with lymphosarcoma.

Mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte blastogenesis was evaluated, using lymphocytes from 37 dogs with multicentric lymphosarcoma. The majority of the test results was within a normal range, even for those dogs with more advanced disease. However, depressed lymphocyte blastogenesis, when present, almost always occurred in lymphocytes from dogs with clinical stage IV-B and V-B disease. Dogs weighing greater than 25 kg had a significantly (P = 0.04) higher occurrence of clinical stage IV or V disease as compared with dogs weighing less than 15 kg. Dogs with diffuse lymphocytic well-differentiated lymphoma were statistically more likely to be designated clinical stage III at the time of diagnosis, as compared with dogs with diffuse lymphocytic poorly differentiated lymphoma.