Cancer cells infection? Patient dies of cancer from his tapeworm

First case of cancer cells developing through a parasitic worm
A parasitic tapeworm was found in a 41-year-old Colombian patient. The pest grew in the organs and eventually led to the death of the person concerned. This find does not seem to be really extraordinary, because every day countless tapeworms are found in people all over the world. The patient's immune system was very weakened due to HIV infection. Normally a tapeworm infection does not kill, but in this case the parasite causes cancer in the patient.

The case baffled physicians around the world, because this was the first known report to find that the cancer cells in a person had developed through a parasitic worm. The journal "New England Journal of Medicine" reported in detail on the caused by a tapeworm death of the Colombian patient.

The head of a tapeworm is provided with numerous barbs that hold the parasite in our body. Now, researchers have found that tapeworms can be involved in the development of cancer. (Image: Juan Gärtner / fotolia.com)

Researchers diagnose unusual type of cancer
The 41-year-old man was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, fever and cough in Colombia in January 2013. The affected person had been losing weight continuously for months. The patient had already been infected with HIV in 2006. Thus, physicians initially suspected a link between the disease of the immune system and the symptoms of recent months. The Colombian doctors were unable to determine what the exact cause of the deterioration of their health was. Now, the United States Department of Health's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Natural History Museum in the UK have been able to diagnose the unusual type of cancer.

Physicians discover worm DNA in tumors
At first the tumors found in the lungs and the liver appeared normal, some had a diameter of more than four centimeters. However, in another examination, the physicians discovered infected cells that were only one-tenth the size of normal human cells. The physicians performed additional molecular tests, which found that the tumors contained a high proportion of DNA from tapeworms. It was not possible for the medical profession to save the patient's life. Three days after the worm DNA was discovered, the 41-year-old man died.

The dwarf tapeworm responsible for this is also called "Hymenlopis nana". Dr. Peter Oslon of the UK's Natural History Museum said in a statement that such a parasite would normally spend its entire life in a "host body" and the new findings on cancer development are absolutely unique. According to the US Department of Health (CDC), this carcinogenic worm is very rare. Infection can be avoided by washing hands regularly and not uncooked vegetables. (As)