B-Cell Lymphoma of the Middle Ear Treated with Multidrug Chemotherapy in a Cat

Abstract

Primary lymphoma of the middle ear is rare in cats, and little information has been accumulated on the treatment and course. An 11-year-old spayed female mixed-breed cat was brought to our hospital with facial nerve paralysis, which had been stable using prednisolone for 3 months. She was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma of the right middle ear after otoscopic sampling, which showed evidence of the filling of bilateral tympanic bullae on computed tomography. Hepatic involvement was suspected, and she was treated with multidrug chemotherapy, resulting in clinical remission. On day 176, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography were performed at checkup, revealing tumor invasion into the nasopharyngeal region and the recurrence of hepatic lesions without any brain abnormality. Nasal congestion then worsened, and the patient died on day 228 after presenting with generalized seizures. Clinicians should be mindful of middle ear lymphoma as a differential diagnosis in cats who present with a sign of otitis media, especially whose condition does respond to corticosteroid treatment. The prognosis for feline middle ear lymphoma might not be as poor as previous reports, and multidrug chemotherapy might result in remission of the disease.