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Background: Differentiation of low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma (LGITL) from lymphoplasmacytic enteritis (LPE) in cats is a diagnostic challenge for pathologists., Objective: Characterize histologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of LGITL and LPE., Animals: Forty-four client-owned cats, 22 diagnosed with LGITL and 22 with LPE., Methods: Prospective, cohort study. Clinical suspicion of LGITL or LPE was based on persistent gastrointestinal signs, unresponsive to empirical treatments. All cats underwent a standardized diagnostic evaluation, including biopsy (preferentially full-thickness), and were diagnosed with LGITL or LPE after review of clinical, laboratory, sonographic, histologic, immunohistochemical, and clonality results., Results: A monomorphic lymphocytic population (22/22, 100%) and in-depth mucosal infiltration (15/22, 68%) were hallmarks of LGITL. Epithelial patterns (nests and plaques) were significantly more frequent in LGITL (11/22, 50%) than in LPE (1/22, 5%) cases (P = .001). A CD3+ lymphocytic apical-to-basal gradient was observed in 9/22 (41%) of LGITL vs 1/22 (5%) of LPE cases (P = .004). Most LPE cases (17/18, 94%) featured marked fibrosis in the superficial part of the lamina propria. The Ki-67 20%- and 30%-thresholds discriminated between LGITL and LPE within both the epithelium (specificity >95%) and lamina propria (specificity >95%), respectively. All LGITL cases were CD3+ pSTAT3- and pSTAT5+. T-cell receptor gamma chain gene rearrangements indicated monoclonality in 86% of LGITL cases. Surprisingly, 70% of LPE cases featured monoclonality (40%) or monoclonality on a polyclonal background (30%)., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: We identified new histologic, immunohistochemical, and clonality criteria to distinguish LGITL from LPE., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: Low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma (LGITL) is the most common intestinal neoplasm in cats. Differentiating LGITL from lymphoplasmacytic enteritis (LPE) is challenging because clinical signs, laboratory results, diagnostic imaging findings, histology, immunohistochemistry, and clonality features may overlap., Objectives: To evaluate possible discriminatory clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic features to differentiate LGITL from LPE., Animals: Twenty-two cats diagnosed with LGITL and 22 cats with LPE based upon histology, immunohistochemistry, and lymphoid clonality., Methods: Prospective, cohort study. Cats presented with clinical signs consistent with LGITL or LPE were enrolled prospectively. All data contributing to the diagnostic evaluation was recorded., Results: A 3-variable model (P < .001) consisting of male sex (P = .01), duration of clinical signs (P = .01), and polyphagia (P = .03) and a 2-variable model (P < .001) including a rounded jejunal lymph node (P < .001) and ultrasonographic abdominal effusion (P = .04) were both helpful to differentiate LGITL from LPE., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Most clinical signs and laboratory results are similar between cats diagnosed with LGITL and LPE. However, male sex, a longer duration of clinical signs and polyphagia might help clinicians distinguish LGITL from LPE. On ultrasonography, a rounded jejunal lymph node, and the presence of (albeit small volume) abdominal effusion tended to be more prevalent in cats with LGITL. However, a definitive diagnosis requires comprehensive histopathologic and phenotypic assessment., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Acquired pyloric narrowing is a rare and poorly-documented condition in cats, but the endoscopic appearance of pyloric narrowing has never previously been reported. The objectives of this study were to describe the clinical, endoscopic and histological features in cats with gastrointestinal signs where the pylorus could not be passed during endoscopy, and to compare these data with a control group. Medical files of cats that underwent upper GI endoscopy by the same operator between 2006 and 2015 were reviewed. Cats for which the pylorus could not be passed were assigned to the case group, whilst those with an easily-passable pylorus were assigned to the control group. The case group comprised 27 cats and control group comprised 35 cats. Median age and weight were not different between groups, but there were more Siamese cats in the case group (6/27) compared with the control group (1/35; P = 0.04). Chronic vomiting was the main clinical sign in both groups, but the vomitus was more likely to contain food in case group (23/25) than in cats in control group (17/30; P < 0.01). Endoscopic findings confirmed gastric inflammation in both groups, whilst histological findings revealed similar lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of the gastric mucosa and the duodenum in most cases, neoplastic features being infrequent. Acquired pyloric narrowing is probably an underdiagnosed condition in adult cats. A possible association between pyloric narrowing and gastrointestinal inflammatory disease requires further study but, for now, it is recommended that multiple gastric, pyloric, and duodenal biopsies be acquired during the endoscopy., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Low-grade alimentary lymphoma (LGAL) is characterised by the infiltration of neoplastic T-lymphocytes, typically in the small intestine. The incidence of LGAL has increased over the last ten years and it is now the most frequent digestive neoplasia in cats and comprises 60 to 75% of gastrointestinal lymphoma cases. Given that LGAL shares common clinical, paraclinical and ultrasonographic features with inflammatory bowel diseases, establishing a diagnosis is challenging. A review was designed to summarise current knowledge of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of feline LGAL. Electronic searches of PubMed and Science Direct were carried out without date or language restrictions., Results: A total of 176 peer-reviewed documents were identified and most of which were published in the last twenty years. 130 studies were found from the veterinary literature and 46 from the human medicine literature. Heterogeneity of study designs and outcome measures made meta-analysis inappropriate. The pathophysiology of feline LGAL still needs to be elucidated, not least the putative roles of infectious agents, environmental factors as well as genetic events. The most common therapeutic strategy is combination treatment with prednisolone and chlorambucil, and prolonged remission can often be achieved. Developments in immunohistochemical analysis and clonality testing have improved the confidence of clinicians in obtaining a correct diagnosis between LGAL and IBD. The condition shares similarities with some diseases in humans, especially human indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of the gastrointestinal tract., Conclusions: The pathophysiology of feline LGAL still needs to be elucidated and prospective studies as well as standardisation of therapeutic strategies are needed. A combination of conventional histopathology and immunohistochemistry remains the current gold-standard test, but clinicians should be cautious about reclassifying cats previously diagnosed with IBD to lymphoma on the basis of clonality testing. Importantly, feline LGAL could be considered to be a potential animal model for indolent digestive T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, a rare condition in human medicine.

Transrectal electrostimulation is a technique used for semen collection in several animals including felids, but also in humans with spinal cord injuries and in specific cases of anejaculation. To the authors' knowledge, safety and innocuity on rectal mucosa has not yet been assessed histologically. A prospective study was performed on 10 European cats in order to determine the impact of electroejaculation on the rectal mucosa, by performing endoscopic and histological evaluation of the rectal mucosa. Endoscopic evaluation was performed before and after semen collection. Standardized biopsy specimens were collected immediately after semen collection, on the site of electrostimulation and on the proximal part of the descending colon as a control, for further double-blinded histopathological evaluation. The degree of inflammation was evaluated following the criteria from the WSAVA Gastrointestinal Standardization Group. Semen collection by electrostimulation did not induce significant histological and endoscopic lesions. Electrostimulation may therefore be considered as a safe technique to collect semen in cats., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 16-year-old domestic shorthaired cat with chronic kidney disease was presented with a subacute history of weakness and anorexia. Severe hypercalcaemia was identified and attributed to a cervical mass, diagnosed as a parathyroid carcinoma after surgery. Renal function, as evaluated by plasma creatinine, initially worsened during hypercalcaemia but fully returned to previously documented values two months post-operatively.