ABSTRACT
Case series summary: A 2-year-old female spayed Abyssinian cat was evaluated for lethargy and inappetence that first occurred approximately 4 days prior. In addition, urination had not been observed by the owner for 5 days. A Lilium species plant had been brought into the house approximately 5 days before initial evaluation, and intoxication was therefore suspected. Bloodwork revealed anemia, severe azotemia and hyperkalemia. As the cat was anuric with severe azotemia, hyperkalemia and fluid overload, intermittent hemodialysis was recommended. Attempts were made to place a hemodialysis catheter into the external jugular veins bilaterally, but after initial successful venipuncture, the instrumentation would not pass into either vein. During fluoroscopic angiography, no internal jugular veins or external jugular veins caudal to the thoracic inlet were visualized and venous drainage from the head occurred via the vertebral veins. Owing to the anomalous anatomy in the cervical region, a hemodialysis catheter could not be placed into either jugular vein. Alternative sites for the placement of an extracorporeal catheter were discussed with the owner, but humane euthanasia was elected. Relevance and novel information: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a cat with bilateral external jugular vein anomalies resulting in blind endings that did not communicate with the vena cava. This was discovered during attempts to place a hemodialysis catheter for the management of anuric renal failure secondary to Lilium species intoxication. While this anatomical variation is likely uncommon, it is an important differential to consider when faced with challenging external jugular vein catheterizations in feline patients.
ABSTRACT
CASE SERIES SUMMARY: Nasal planum tumors are rare in cats, with squamous cell carcinoma over-represented. Other skin tumors have been reported in this location and though hemangiosarcoma frequently occurs on the skin of the head, these tumors localized to the nasal planum have not been specifically reported. The objectives of this study were to report the clinical findings and outcomes in cats diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma of the nasal planum. Medical records from four different institutions were reviewed to identify cats with a definitive diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma of the nasal planum. Five cats met the inclusion criteria. One cat was treated with palliative radiation therapy (RT) alone, two cats had lesions removed via an excisional biopsy by the primary care veterinarian and two cats had excisional biopsies performed at a referral institution. All four cats that received surgical treatment were treated with adjuvant strontium-90 therapy. The cat receiving palliative RT alone was lost to follow-up 311 days after treatment. At the time of writing, the survival time for 2/3 cats receiving surgery and strontium-90 was 365 days and 1381 days, respectively. One cat receiving this combination of therapy was lost to follow-up immediately after treatment. One cat developed tumor recurrence and a revision surgery via nasal planectomy and upper lip resection was performed 376 days following the initial surgery. Following revision, palliative RT was pursued. The cat was still alive at the time of writing 618 days after the initial procedure, with no evidence of recurrence. RELEVANCE AND NOVEL INFORMATION: In this case series, surgery was the primary treatment used, but due to the location, only narrow or incomplete surgical margins were possible. RT (strontium-90 and/or palliative) was utilized to decrease the risk of recurrence.
Subject(s)
Cat Diseases , Neoplasms , Cats , Animals , Neoplasms/veterinary , Cat Diseases/diagnosis , Cat Diseases/surgeryABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Although recombinant human interleukin-15 (rhIL-15) has generated much excitement as an immunotherapeutic agent for cancer, activity in human clinical trials has been modest to date, in part due to the risks of toxicity with significant dose escalation. Since pulmonary metastases are a major site of distant failure in human and dog cancers, we sought to investigate inhaled rhIL-15 in dogs with naturally occurring lung metastases from osteosarcoma (OSA) or melanoma. We hypothesized a favorable benefit/risk profile given the concentrated delivery to the lungs with decreased systemic exposure. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We performed a phase I trial of inhaled rhIL-15 in dogs with gross pulmonary metastases using a traditional 3+3 cohort design. A starting dose of 10 µg twice daily × 14 days was used based on human, non-human primate, and murine studies. Safety, dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) were the primary objectives, while response rates, progression-free and overall survival (OS), and pharmacokinetic and immune correlative analyses were secondary. RESULTS: From October 2018 to December 2020, we enrolled 21 dogs with 18 dogs reaching the 28-day response assessment to be evaluable. At dose level 5 (70 µg), we observed two DLTs, thereby establishing 50 µg twice daily × 14 days as the MTD and recommended phase 2 dose. Among 18 evaluable dogs, we observed one complete response >1 year, one partial response with resolution of multiple target lesions, and five stable disease for an overall clinical benefit rate of 39%. Plasma rhIL-15 quantitation revealed detectable and sustained rhIL-15 concentrations between 1-hour and 6 hour postnebulization. Decreased pretreatment lymphocyte counts were significantly associated with clinical benefit. Cytotoxicity assays of banked peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed significant increases in peak cytotoxicity against canine melanoma and OSA targets that correlated with OS. CONCLUSIONS: In this first-in-dog clinical trial of inhaled rhIL-15 in dogs with advanced metastatic disease, we observed promising clinical activity when administered as a monotherapy for only 14 days. These data have significant clinical and biological implications for both dogs and humans with refractory lung metastases and support exploration of combinatorial therapies using inhaled rhIL-15.