A chance to learn about skin lymphoma appears in Issue 16: Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 03:44:55 -0000 From: "Dr. Bruce Williams" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: skin lymphoma? Dear Michelle: I would be happy to look at the skin tumor, if you want a second opinion. Skin lymphoma is fairly rare in ferrets, and I suppose that I have probably seen more than anyone else. Skin lymphoma is unusual among the lymphomas of ferrets. While lymphoma generally carries a poor prognosis, with less than 10% responding to treatment, and most of those only temporarily. Cutaneous lymphoma is different. The progression is slow, and may take up to years. Metastasis is uncommon - most animals are euthanized due to loss of function, especially when the feet are widely affected. Early and surgical excision is skin lesions is associated with prolonged remission. If the neoplasm metastasizes to a lymph node, lymph node excision is recommended. Because of the fact that these tumors rarely metastasize internally, we try by surgical excision to try to stay one jump ahead of it. If you have a previous diagnosis of cutaneous lymphoma, excision of any new skin lesions or enlarged lymph nodes is very important. In this case, I would recommend excision of the submandibular node as they are rapidly growing, but I would probably not go after the armpit and knee nodes, as these are often mildly enlarged in older ferrets not because of an increase of lymphoid cells, but because older ferrets commonly lay down fat around these nodes. Submandibular lymph node enlargement may be an early sign of systemic lymphoma, but are also the most common site of hyperplasia due to local inflammation - they drain the oral cavity, one of the most common sites of chronic inflammation in older ferrets. With kindest regards, Bruce H. Williams, DVM Join the Ferret Health List at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list [Posted in FML issue 3343]