One story impressed the scientific world in 2015: The case of a 41-year-old man who died of cancer formed by cells from a tapeworm that lived in his body. This was the first known case of parasitic cancer in man.
→ the case
In 2013, Colombian doctors at the Pontifical Bolivarian University were treating a 41-year-old man who was HIV positive and whose immune system was severely weakened. The patient, who had fatigue, fever, weight loss and cough, underwent some tests to make a diagnosis. It was then that the presence of tumors of approximately 4 cm in length was observed in organs such as the liver and lungs.
Tumors were not common, as the cells had non-human characteristics, since the cells contained there were approximately one-tenth the size of a normal human cell. Some hypotheses arose there, such as cell shrinkage and infection discovered in its early stage of development. Doctors decided to seek out experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and later the UK Museum of Natural History to decipher the riddle.
After some analysis, it was noticed that the DNA contained in the cells was not human, but from a species of tapeworm known as the dwarf tapeworm. (Hymenolepis nana). Despite being able to understand what it was and verifying that the cancer was caused by the parasite's cells, the doctors were unable to save the patient. The man died three days after identifying the type of cell causing the problem.
→ the parasite
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The parasite found in the analyzed man is a species of tapeworm known as the dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana), which is acquired through food and water contaminated with eggs or through contact with a contaminated hand. The species manages to complete its life cycle completely in a single host.
The dwarf tapeworm installs itself in the intestine, causing a disease called hymenolepiasis. Symptoms are similar to those of other diseases that affect the intestine, highlighting diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, anorexia and weight loss.
Until now, it was not known that this tapeworm could trigger cancer. It now remains to find out if the tapeworm had cancer and passed to the patient or if the animal's cells became cancerous, causing the disease in the host.
→ The study
The study by scientists at the Centers for Control and Prevention in the United States in partnership with the British Museum of Natural History was published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine and entitled "Malignant Transformation of Hymenolepis nana in a Human Host”. To access the study, Click here!
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "The curious case of tapeworm cell cancer"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/o-curioso-caso-cancer-formado-por-celulas-tenia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
