Sonographic features of gastrointestinal lymphoma in 15 dogs

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to describe the sonographic appearance of lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract in dogs. METHOD: A retrospective review was conducted and patients with gastrointestinal lymphoma diagnosed by histopathology (including immunohistochemistry, where available) or cytology that had an abdominal ultrasound were included. RESULTS: Four of 15 (26.7%) cases with histopathologically confirmed lymphoma exhibited no sonographic abnormalities. In the dogs with sonographic abnormalities, features including intestinal wall thickness and the presence or absence of wall layering were highly variable. Clinical signs pertaining to the gastrointestinal tract were also unreliable markers of gastrointestinal lymphoma, with weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhoea being uncommon presenting complaints; intestinal obstruction was not present in any patient. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The sonographic appearance of gastrointestinal lymphoma in dogs is non-specific. Gastrointestinal lymphoma in dogs should be maintained as a differential diagnosis despite a sonographically normal appearing bowel.