Clinical, Morphological, and Immunohistochemical Characterization of Cutaneous Lymphocytosis in 23 Cats

    February 2004 in “ Veterinary Dermatology ”
    Sophie Gilbert, Verena K. Affolter, Thelma Lee Gross, Peter F. Moore, Peter J. Ihrke
    TLDR Cutaneous lymphocytosis in cats is a slowly progressing, relatively benign disease affecting older cats, often causing skin lesions and systemic signs.
    The study characterized cutaneous lymphocytosis in 23 cats, an uncommon disease resembling well-differentiated malignant lymphoma. It mainly affected older cats, with 61% having solitary lesions, often showing alopecia (73.9%), erythema, scaling, and ulceration, primarily on the lateral thorax (43.5%). Pruritus was common (65.2%), along with systemic signs like anorexia and weight loss. Lesions were marked by dermal infiltrations of CD3+ T-cells (100%) and CD79+ B-cells (64.3%). The disease was slowly progressive and relatively benign, though some cats were euthanized due to systemic signs. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluations could not predict clinical outcomes.
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