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Use of 5-fluoropyridimine antimetabolite drugs, specifically 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), has been discouraged in cats because of adverse events including neurotoxicity and death. Causes of toxicity have never been elucidated. In humans, toxicity has been associated with ineffective metabolism secondary to deficiencies in dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). Direct assessment of DPD activity is challenging; determination of uracil:dihydrouracil (U:UH2 ) in plasma using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been reported as an indirect measurement. U:UH2 was measured in the plasma of 73 cats. Mean U:UH2 for all cats was 1.66 ± 0.11 (median 1.53, range 0.24-7.00). Seventeen (23%) cats had U:UH2 >2, a value associated with decreased DPD activity in humans. Spayed female cats had significantly lower U:UH2 as compared with intact females, and age and U:UH2 were weakly but significantly negatively correlated (r = -0.26). Studies correlating U:UH2 and 5-FU tolerability are required to further determine the validity and use of this test in cats., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Parathyroid carcinoma (PTC) is rare in dogs and there is little information documenting its treatment and prognosis. The objective of this study was to describe the outcome of dogs with PTC treated with surgical excision. Medical records of 19 dogs undergoing surgical excision of PTC between 1990 and 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. Dogs were presented for clinical hypercalcaemia or incidental hypercalcaemia noted by referring veterinarians on routine serum chemistry profiles. A parathyroid nodule was identified with cervical ultrasound in 17/17 dogs. Hypercalcaemia resolved in 18/19 dogs within 4 days postoperatively. Nine developed hypocalcaemia. None were confirmed to develop recurrent or metastatic PTC. The only death associated with PTC was a dog that was euthanized for intractable hypocalcaemia 9 days after surgery. Estimated 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 72, 37 and 30%, respectively. Excision of PTC results in resolution of hypercalcaemia and excellent tumour control., (© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

The objective of this retrospective study is to report and analyse the incidence of and risk factors for post-transplant malignant neoplasia (PTMN) in feline renal transplant recipients (cases, n = 45) and compare incidence to a population of cats that did not receive a transplant (controls, n = 79). Information from the medical records of cases regarding signalment, blood work and concomitant disease, post operative cyclosporine concentrations, survival time (ST), and whether PTMN developed, the type of PTMN, time to occurrence (TTO), and ST after diagnosis was gathered. PTMN occurred in 11 of 45 (24%) cases, of which, four were lymphoma. Median TTO of all PTMN was 1020 days. Median TTO of lymphoma was 454 days. Median ST after diagnosis of PTMN was 15 days. No risk factors were identified. Compared with control cats, cases had more than six times higher odds of developing PTMN compared with control cats (P < 0.01).