Epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma is the most common form of cutaneous lymphoma in dogs. However lymphoma affecting the skin is uncommon, making up only 1% of all canine cutaneous neoplasms and about 5% of all canine lymphomas. It is usually a disease of older dogs with the average age of onset of 8-10 years. Clinical subtypes include exfoliative erythroderma, solitary or multiple patches, plaques and/or nodules, muco-cutaneous disease and ulcerative disease of the oral mucosae. Histopathology is required confirm the diagnosis of ETCL however early lesions may appear similar to inflammatory disease and clinical follow-up with sequential biopsies may be required. The treatment of choice in dogs for ETCL is lomustine (CCNU) but potential adverse effectssuch as myelosuppression and hepatoxicity need to be considered. The prognosis is poor and a median survival time of six months following diagnosis irrespective of treatment was recently reported in one review of 30 cases. Many dogs may suffer varying degrees of pain and/or pruritus and although treatment may not alter the rate of disease progression or the length of survival, it may improve quality of life.
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