Although all of the above tests and exams help to determine presence of disease, the only way to absolutely diagnose and stage lymphoma is by biopsy. The mainstay treatment of lymphoma is combination chemotherapy in which a variety of drugs are given according to a specific plan or protocol. Many chemotherapy protocols exist and they are ever-changing. Commonly, prednisone, a steroid drug will be given alone or in conjunction with other chemotherapy drugs to decrease the inflammation that occurs in the dog's body due to the action of the disease or the effect of the chemotherapy. A word of caution is offered here and that is if you decide not to proceed with chemotherapy and to use prednisone alone and later decide to begin chemotherapy, the chemotherapy will be less effective because of the initial prednisone use.
Treatment is aimed at remission of disease.
Chemotherapy can provide a remission of up to 2 years, but beyond that, survival is not expected because lymphoma has a high propensity for recurrence and when this happens, it is more resistant to chemotherapy drugs. Lymph nodes throughout the body are affected. Liver and spleen also affected. No clinical signs and symptoms are present. Clinical signs and symptoms are present.