INCREASED RISK FOR LYMPHOMA AND GLOMERULONEPHRITIS IN A CLOSED POPULATION OF CATS EXPOSED TO FELINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS

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Abstract
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV)-associated diseases were observed in a household in eastern Connecticut having 134 cats over a period of five and a half years. FeLV-posltlve cats had a much higher mortality rate (34.6 deaths per 1000 cat-months of follow-up) than did FeLV-negatlve cats (8.9 deaths per 1000 cat-months of follow-up). The leading cause of death was glomerulone-phritis followed by lymphoma. The relative risk for virus-positive cats as compared to virus-negative cats for the two diseases was 9.9 and 9.6, respectively. The major risk factors for the development of lymphoma were virus positivity and low antibody tlter to the feline oncornavirus-assoclated cell membrane antigen (FOCMA). No significant differences in cancer incidence were seen between the two major breeds (Abyssinian and Burmese) in the household. An older age at arrival in the house decreased death rates for all causes in the household, but It did not significantly affect death rates from lymphoma, although there was a positive trend.