title: Prognostic factors in canine acute leukaemias: a retrospective study.
abstract: Canine acute leukaemias (ALs) have a poor prognosis, with reported survival times (ST) of only a few weeks or months. Also, clinical studies assessing prognostic factors are lacking. This study aims to retrospectively assess variables that predict ST in dogs with AL, and to identify correlations between outcome and therapeutic protocols. Diagnosis and sub-classification into AL subtypes was made based on haematological findings, morphological assessment and flow cytometric immunophenotyping. Clinical-pathological features of AL subtypes at presentation concurred with those described in the literature. A normal neutrophil count at presentation significantly prolonged ST (P = 0.027). Additionally, there was a trend for anaemic dogs to have shorter survival compared with those without anaemia, and the incorporation of cytosine in the chemotherapy protocol produced a moderate but not significant increase in median ST for dogs with AL. Further prospective studies with standardized treatments are needed to confirm and improve our results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novacco
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Comazzi
authors.affiliation: Centro Oncologico Veterinario, Sasso Marconi, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marconato
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefanello
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aresu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9882-2867
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martini
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007938:Leukemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: acute leukaemia; anaemia; cytosine; flow cytometry; neutrophil count; prognosis