Cancer in cats is like in the human species a hard and complicated disease. Regarding intestinal cancer in cats, in addition to lymphoma in cats, which is usually the most frequent, adenocarcinoma can also appear, a malignant invasive tumor with a poor prognosis that can affect the small intestine and the large intestine. The clinical signs are those derived from intestinal obstruction and tumor resection surgery is the treatment of choice since chemotherapy is ineffective.
What is an intestinal adenocarcinoma?
To start this article, you are probably wondering what an intestinal-type adenocarcinoma is. Intestinal adenocarcinoma is a tumor more common in older cats and Siamese cats seem to be especially susceptible to it while male cats also seem to be more sensitive.
This is a tumor that mainly affects the ileum and jejunum in cats. Adenocarcinomas are locally infiltrating tumors and usually cause symptoms similar to those caused by intestinal obstruction. They also frequently ulcerate and can cause bloody diarrhoea.
Intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats affects the glandular epithelium, originating in the lining cells of the internal secretion glands of the intestine and producing a circumferential thickening of the intestine wall.
They are tumors that can arise both in the large intestine and in the small intestineo and present rapid growth, giving rise to symptoms similar to those of a partial intestinal obstructive process. In addition, they have a high rate of metastasis to local lymph nodes, invading the intestine quite extensively.
Not only does intestinal adenocarcinoma exist, but it can also appear in other parts of the feline gastrointestinal tract, such as the stomach or rectum.
Symptoms of intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats
The symptoms derived from intestinal adenocarcinoma resemble those of obstruction, with clinical signs appearing as:
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Loss of appetite and weight.
- Blood in vomit (hematemesis).
- Digested blood in feces (melena).
- Fresh blood in stool (hematochezia).
- Difficulty passing stool or tenesmus.
- Abdominal pain in the mesogastrium.
When the disease progresses, weakness and decay will also appear. Mesenteric lymph node metastases are common.
Don't miss this other article about Blood in cat feces: causes and possible diseases.
Causes of intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats
Intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats, like many other tumors, has no clear established cause. It is not known why the cells mutate and acquire infiltrative capacity and rapid growth, affecting the correct organic functionality and being able to spread to other locations.
Although the cause is not clear, it is related to age, since it is diagnosed more in older cats, especially in males and the most predisposed breed seems to be the Siamese, since it is diagnosed about 8 times more than in any other breed of cat.
Diagnosis of intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats
The first thing is to perform a good anamnesis and physical examination of the animal in order to obtain information that makes us suspect a gastrointestinal pathology that produces obstruction and then start performing the specific diagnostic tests that will name the disease.
Within the diagnostic tests we find a complete blood count and blood biochemistry that can show mild to severe anemia due to blood loss of blood due to vomit and/or feces, leukocytosis with a shift to the left, a drop in albumin, a slight increase in alkaline phosphatase and a decrease in phosphorus.
To diagnose the intestinal mass, diagnostic imaging techniques such as ultrasound and contrast X-ray are used The definitive diagnosis of adenocarcinoma feline intestinal is performed from a sample taken by biopsy of the lesion and its histopathological study in the laboratory.
Treatment of intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats
Treatment of intestinal adenocarcinoma is complicated, it is not a tumor that is particularly sensitive to chemotherapy, being rather ineffective and therefore not it is usually advised in these patients.
Tumor removal or resection surgery is considered the treatment of choice, however it is not usually curative due to the presence of metastases at the time of diagnosis in the vast majority of cases. This surgery involves removing the part of the damaged intestine and reattaching it to the he althy parts. Analgesics are also often prescribed as palliatives for the pain that this tumor usually produces in affected cats.
Prognosis of Intestinal Adenocarcinoma in Cats
Despite the fact that it is a tumor with poor prognosis or poor prognosis, this surgery has been performed correctly and although there are metastases in the regional nodules, some cats may live a few years longer.
Prevention of intestinal adenocarcinoma in cats
Feline intestinal adenocarcinoma, like the vast majority of tumors, cannot be prevented in any way. If your cat has the genetic potential to be sensitive to tumors, it is possible that it will happen to him and, if he does not have it, that it will not happen to him, helplessly
In addition, for prevention, or at least to be able to diagnose it in the initial stages, periodic abdominal ultrasounds would be necessary, something that is not usually done routinely if your cat does not have any other pathology.
