Presentation and survival time of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) with lymphoma treated with single- and multiagent protocols: 44 cases (1998–2016)

Abstract

Lymphoma is the 3rdmost common neoplasm in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furoi). The objective of this study was to describe case demographics and outcomes of ferrets diagnosed and treated for lymphoma. Forty-four ferrets from two institutions were retrospectively evaluated for case demographics, subjective response to treatment, date of last known status (lost to follow-up [LTFU], euthanized, died) and survival time (ST; days between diagnosis and last known status). Multiagent chemotherapy protocols included modified cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisolone (COP) ± l-asparaginase (l-ASP); modified COP, doxorubicin, l-ASP; Tufts no-IV ± l-ASP; prednisolone, cyclophosphamide ± l-ASP; prednisolone and l-ASP; prednisolone, vincristine and l-ASP; prednisolone, vinblastine and l-ASP; cyclophosphamide and l-ASP; cyclophosphamide, vincristine ± l-ASP. Prednisolone, chlorambucil or cyclophosphamide was used as single-agent therapies in eight cases. The median ST (MST) for ferrets with a known date of death (DOD) was 126 days (n = 37, range 3–1199 days) overall ST. Ferrets treated with modified COP ± additional chemotherapeutics had a MST of 429 days (n = 15, range 35–1199 days); all had a known DOD. The MST for all seven ferrets that received the Tufts no-IV protocol was 86 days (range 19–888 days) with 1/7 having a known DOD at 73 days and the remainder being LTFU. This manuscript provides descriptive data that may be beneficial for veterinarians having treatment discussions with their clients. Due to the inability to control for lymphocyte cell size, staging and treatment heterogeneity, a comparison between protocols was not performed.