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Man dies from his parasitic worms' cancer

  • 05-11-2015 2:58pm
    #1
    GLaDOS
    Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 23,233 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Saw this and thought it was incredibly interesting

    HIV positive man doesn't follow his medication regimen as strictly as he should, allows his white blood cell (CD4) count to drop to dangerously low levels.

    Is infected by the parasitic worm Hymenolepis nana, usually cleared by the immune system but his immunocompromised state they are able to flourish.

    Here's where it gets interesting, the worms develop cancer, which appears to metastasise into the host. He dies riddled with cancerous growth originating from the worm

    Link

    Paper

    First time anything like this has been observed apparently.

    Cake, and grief counseling, will be available at the conclusion of the test



Comments

  • #2
    Tree
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,739 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tree


    It would seem that, although rare, this isn't quite the first time such tumours have been identified. It's certainly a very interesting case from a parasitology point of view as well as immunological.

    http://www.nature.com/news/the-tapeworm-that-turned-into-a-tumour-1.18726
    Here's the summary I had read earlier.


  • #3
    GLaDOS
    Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 23,233 Mod ✭✭✭✭GLaDOS


    Cheers for that, fascinating. A nightmare for doctors I would assume, how do you fight an unfamiliar cancer in an already fragile patient?

    Cake, and grief counseling, will be available at the conclusion of the test



  • #4
    josey_whale
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 284 ✭✭josey_whale


    I know this is somewhat off topic, but there seems to increasing interest in the role microbes and parasites play in cancer.

    There is some evidence of bacteria preventing cancer (eg probiotic bacteria preventing colorectal cancer). Of course, viruses such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr Virus are known to be involved in the development of cancer, but not a lot is known about what if any role bacteria or parasites might play in the development of cancer.

    I came across a paper recently... Distinct microbiological signatures associated with triple negative breast cancer. [Nature.com]. They found specific bacterial and parasite genetic signatures in the tumors of patients with TNBC. They pose an interesting question .... Are they causative of cancer or does the tumour just provide a nice environment for these organisms to grow?

    I suspect it's the tumour micro environment. However, like everything in biology, you can bet that it's highly com    plex.


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