Treating Lymphoma in Dogs The treatment therapy proven most effective for canine lymphoma is chemotherapy. The type of chemotherapy your vet recommends will vary depending on the type of cancer, and in some cases the vet may also suggest radiation therapy or surgery.
Lymphoma treatments include:
This protocol involves 16 weekly chemotherapy treatments; there is a week off after every 4th treatment so treatments are administered over a total of 19 weeks. Other protocols include chemotherapy given once every 2 or 3 weeks (either oral or IV), although remission rates and average survival times may be decreased.
The most effective therapy for most types of canine lymphoma is chemotherapy. In some cases, surgery or radiation therapy may also be recommended. There are numerous chemotherapy treatment protocols for dogs with multicentric lymphoma.
Without treatment, the average lifespan of a dog with lymphoma is very short, usually 1-2 months. However, with treatment, about 85% of dogs with lymph node involvement will go into remission to the point that lymphoma can no longer be detected in the lymph nodes.
Life expectancy for this disease
The average age of those who are diagnosed with indolent lymphoma is about 60. It affects both men and women. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is approximately 12 to 14 years. Indolent lymphomas are about 40 percent of all NHLs combined in the United States.
The overall 5-year relative survival rate for all people with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis is 71 percent. Relative survival rates compare people with this disease to those without it, and they vary widely for different types and stages. Many factors can affect survival rates.
Dogs can present with enlarged lymph nodes and no clinical signs of illness. Some dogs may be depressed, lethargic, vomiting, losing weight, losing fur/hair, febrile, and/or have decreased appetite.
If left untreated, dogs with lymphoma will generally die from their disease within 3 to 4 weeks. Treatment with prednisone (a corticosteroid) alone generally can induce short-lived remissions (usually less than 8 to 12 weeks), but this treatment can make the disease resistant to other treatments.
In general, dogs with lymphoma tend to survive a very short period of time without treatment—only around two to three months. However, lymphoma is a type of cancer that usually responds well to chemotherapy.
There are many things you can do to care for your dog as she receives treatment, including:
Lymphoma is categorized into five stages, depending on the extent of the disease in the body: single lymph node enlargement (stage I), regional lymph node enlargement (stage II), generalized lymph node enlargement (stage III), liver and/or spleen involvement (stage IV), and bone marrow and blood involvement (stage V).
The treatment therapy proven most effective for canine lymphoma is chemotherapy. The type of chemotherapy your vet recommends will vary depending on the type of cancer, and in some cases the vet may also suggest radiation therapy or surgery.
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