Carcinogenesis of malignant neoplasms in cats: Development factors

An effective and timely prevention of diseases in animal companions is a major task faced by the modern veterinary science. This research featured the correlation between malignant neoplasms and ophthalmological diseases in cats. The authors studied the multifactorial effect on the neoplastic proliferation and cancer-related ophthalmopathy to develop a general scheme of neoplastic proliferation in cats. The effect of exogenous and endogenous factors on neoplastic proliferation was described based on experimental studies of numerous samples taken from 192 cats, including 67 cancer patients. The comprehensive methodological approach included anamnestic data sampling, clinical examination, examination of the pathological area, hematology, cytomorphology, and chemical-toxicological tests. The cats with various ophthalmopathies were simultaneously diagnosed with one or more of the following cancer types: carcinoma (37.13%), squamous cell carcinoma (32.83%), lymphoma (29.85%), sarcoma (20.89%), melanoma (2.98%), and mastocytoma (1.49%). The main factors of neoplastic proliferation included diet, care, living conditions, physical activity, stress, chronic inflammation, repeated cases, the rate of increase/decrease in clinical signs, previous therapies, etc. In most cases, the cancer-related ophthalmopathy developed as a result of tumor metabolites or as a side-effect of chemotherapy. The incidence of cancer-related ophthalmopathy increased with age. Cancer was found to correlate with the amounts of zinc, iron, and lead in the fur. Another correlation occurred between carcinomas, especially mammary tumors, and the high copper content in the fur.