[SIZE=6]Man died with ‘tapeworm tumours’[/SIZE].
Just listening to radio and came across he story of this guy who apparently contracted tapeworm cancer that spread through his body via the lymphatic system. Admittedly, he was HIV +ve and this may have made him more susceptible to this kind of illness. Sadly, he died before doctors could do anything to save him. Read on:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-07/man-catches-cancer-from-tapeworm-parasite/6918154
The New England Journal of Medicine yesterday published a case study about a HIV-positive Colombian man who had tumours that yielded puzzling biopsy results: the cells were definitely cancer-like, but the cells were not human. Three years of tests finally revealed the man had been infected by a tapeworm that had contracted cancer, which had then spread around the man’s body.
The man’s weakened immune system made him particularly susceptible to the tapeworm’s cancer cells, according to scientists and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which helped diagnose the man.
“We were amazed when we found this new type of disease — tapeworms growing inside a person essentially getting cancer that spreads to the person, causing tumours,” study lead author Dr Atis Muehlenbachs said. "We think this type of event is rare. However, this tapeworm is found worldwide and millions of people globally suffer from conditions like HIV that weaken their immune system. “So there may be more cases that are unrecognised. It’s definitely an area that deserves more study.”
Unfortunately, the man died just 72 hours after the doctors reached their diagnosis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTgUvxBMpUA
The tapeworm in question, Hymenolepis nana, or the dwarf tapeworm, is the most common tapeworm in humans, infecting up to 75 million people at any given time, according to the CDC.
People get the tapeworm by eating food contaminated with mouse droppings or insects or by ingesting faeces from someone else who is infected.Children are most often affected and most people show no symptoms. However, in people whose immune systems are weak, including people who have HIV or are taking steroids, the tapeworm can thrive.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34721419
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505892
http://www.newser.com/story/215591/man-killed-by-his-tapeworms-cancer.html