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Old July 7th, 2007, 07:27 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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Rainbow,

Thanks for the vote of confidence!!!



Little Momma,

Persistent vaccine lumps in cats after a FeLV vaccine can be of concern and definitely indicates a trip to the veterinarian. Some can be benign but there is concern that most of the FeLV vaccines may in some cause an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma (cancer) in some cats. There is different numbers on the rate of vaccine induced cancer but there was a lecture in 2006 by a veterinary oncologist Dr. Rassnick that stated the annual occurence in the USA was, "at a rate of 0.63 to 3 per 10,000 cats vaccinated annually." Some vaccine representatives still even say that the vaccine hasn't been linked to the cancer - but that is not the general impression.

Currently there are non-adjuvanted FeLV vaccines which reduce the risk and a recombinant, non-adjuvanted, needless vaccine which to date, has not ever been shown to have caused cancer. (it is the Vet Jet system by Merial and looks like a white and teal colored space pen). Note: different veterinarians choose different vaccines. There is a lot of controversy out there. Overall the risk is low, but when it is your cat that doesn't necessarily make you feel better!

What to do now?
1) Relax. While the risk is present, it is low. Before I switched to the Vet Jet, I had been injecting FeLV vaccines for 8 years and never had a sarcoma come back. I had a collegue that I worked with have one (that was in a 6 doctor practice).
2) Bring him to your veterinarian and discuss the situation. Ask her/him whether fine needle aspiration, biopsy, surgical excision with biopsy or waiting/antibiotic therapy is the best for your cat.

Good luck and keep us updated.
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Christopher A. Lee, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ACVPM
Preventive Medicine Specialist With a Focus on Immunology and Infectious Disease
myvetzone.com
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