title: Predictors of long-term survival in dogs with high-grade multicentric lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine factors predicting survival in dogs with high-grade multicentric lymphoma. Design-Retrospective cohort study. Animals-127 dogs with high-grade multicentric lymphoma evaluated at 4 veterinary hospitals from 2000 to 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Records were reviewed to identify dogs with completely staged high-grade multicentric lymphoma treated with chemotherapy. Data collected included signalment, history, hematologic findings, tumor characteristics, treatment, and outcome. Long-term survival was defined as surviving > 2 years after diagnosis. Variables were analyzed for associations with dogs living > 2 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 127 enrolled dogs, 13 (10%) survived > 2 years with a median survival time of 914 days (range, 740 to 2,058 days). Survival rates at 3, 4, and 5 years were 4%, 3%, and 1 %, respectively. At diagnosis, 11 of the 13 long-term survivors had a body weight ≥ 10 kg, PCV ≥ 35%, absence of ionized hypercalcemia, centroblastic lymphoma, immunophenotype B, absence of bone marrow involvement, and lymphoma stages I through IV and were not previously treated with corticosteroids. The same combination of factors was present in 26 of 114 (23%) dogs surviving ≤ 2 years, yielding a negative predictive value of 97.8% for long-term survivors. Four of the 6 long-term survivors that died during the study died of another cancer; 3 of them had osteosarcoma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Absence of the aforementioned combination of variables at diagnosis may help identify dogs with lymphoma that will not survive > 2 years. Other types of neoplasia, in particular osteosarcoma, may develop in long-term-surviving dogs.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Veterinaria L'Arca, Vico Cacciottoli 46-47, 80129 Naples, Italy. marconato@aoicenter.ch
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marconato
authors.forename: Damiano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefanello
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bonfanti
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Comazzi
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roccabianca
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caniatti
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romanelli
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Massari
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000662:veterinary; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors