Diagnosis of lymphoma, chronic myeloid leukemia and mast cell tumor in dogs using polymerase chain reaction

In pet cancer diagnostics, there is a dire need for molecular diagnostic tools that give results in few hours rather than days.Hematopoietic cancers, particularly lymphoma, the most common type of hematopoietic cancer, have been reported in dogs.Diagnosis of blood malignancies is difficult based on histological and cytological examination.In such a situation, advanced molecular techniques may be helpful to confirm a diagnosis.It is very much essential to diagnose blood malignancies.In the present study, 123 blood samples from dogs were screened to diagnose the lymphoma using polymerase chain reaction for antigen receptor rearrangement and 10 blood samples were screened to diagnose chronic myeloid leukemia using a two-step nested polymerase chain reaction for detection of the bcr-abl fusion.Twenty one tissue samples from abnormal growth on the body surface of dogs were screened to diagnose mast cell tumor using polymerase chain reaction for detection of mutation at juxtamembrane domain of c-kit gene.Two out of 123 dogs were found to be positive for T-cell lymphoma, 3 dogs were positive for chronic myeloid leukemia out of 10 samples and 1 tissue sample was found to be positive for mast cell tumor out of 21 suspected samples.Thus, regular use of molecular diagnostics in veterinary practice for speedy and early diagnosis of tumors, particularly insidious neoplastic conditions, as well as in taking therapeutic decisions is very crucial.