Dog Acute Myeloid Leukemia

You’ve heard the term Dog Leukemia, but do you really know what it means? In dogs, something called acute lymphoid is something that can develop very rapidly. Dogs may appear stressed out and even anxious, have a swelling of the lymph nodes, show a Dog Loss of Appetite, experience spontaneous bleeding, Dog Fever, Dog Anemia, Dog Difficulty Breathing and panting, pica (eating dirt, rocks, and other “non-food” items), experience lameness in limbs, or suffer from a lack of coordination. Acute lymphoid leukemia usually occurs in senior dogs, as opposed to how it usually occurs in humans, where children are its biggest target.

Diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Rapid diagnosis is imperative for proper treatment and managing of the disease, if not its complete cure, just as with most instances of Dog Cancer. Therefore, if you have a dog and he or she exhibits any of these symptoms (especially if your dog is older), see your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Acute myeloid leukemia as it occurs in dogs is part of something called myeloproliferative diseases, which originate in bone marrow. With this condition, cells called multipotent cells (“parents” to all types of blood cells) grow very rapidly, but maturation is impaired, as is function; this means that blood cell components don’t mature normally, leading to problems, including destruction of other tissues.

The condition is quite rare in dogs, and does not discriminate between breeds. With acute myeloid leukemia, cells grow out of control, and cells as a result are less mature than non-cancerous cells and poorly differentiated.

The onset of acute myeloid leukemia is sudden, and it’s a much more aggressive cancer than is chronic myeloid leukemia. The resulting overproduction of immature cells can ultimately affect every organ in the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, heart, kidneys, tonsils and the central nervous system. Symptoms usually first include anemia and a low white blood cell count, particularly in neutrophils. In addition, thrombocytopenia, low platelets, may also be seen. As a result of these disorders, hemorrhaging and infection can occur.

Treatment therapies for chronic myeloid leukemia

Therapies for dogs with chronic myeloid leukemia include cytoreductive chemotherapy, using a drug like an interesting, anthracycline, prednisone, and cytosine arabinoside; cyclophosphamide, vincristine, cytosine arabinoside and prednisone are also used as maintenance therapies (also known as COAP).

With this treatment, bone marrow suppression is significant, such that thrombocytopenia and anemia may result. Transfusions of plasma or whole blood may be required to treat the prophesied opinion and anemia. Infection, too, may become a significant problem, such that aggressive in the attic therapy may be required. Because the disease is so invasive, palliative supportive care is also necessary. Prognosis for acute myeloid leukemia is “guarded” for dogs that acquire this disease, although treatment can certainly make dogs more comfortable and in some cases may prolong life.