Clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical characterization of canine indolent lymphoma

Indolent lymphoma comprises up to 29% of all canine lymphoma; however, limited information exists regarding the subtypes and biological behaviour. This retrospective study describes the clinical characteristics, histopathological and immunohistochemical features, treatment, outcome and prognostic factors for 75 dogs with indolent lymphoma. WHO histopathological classification and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for CD79a, CD3, Ki67 and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was performed. The most common histopathological subtype was T-zone, 61.7%, (MST 33.5 months), followed by marginal zone, 25%, (MST 21.2 months), P = 0.542. The addition of IHC to preliminary histopathological classification resulted in a revised diagnosis in 20.4% of cases. The use of systemic treatment did not influence survival, P = 0.065. Dogs treated with chlorambucil and prednisone did not reach a MST, compared with a MST of 21.6 months with CHOP-based chemotherapy, P = 0.057. The overall MST of 4.4 years confirms that this is indeed an indolent disease. However, the effect of systemic treatment must be determined through prospective trials.