Study Source: Hindawu Case Reports in Neurological Medicine / 2013
ABSTRACT Multiple observations suggest that certain parasitic infections can be oncogenic. Among these, neurocysticercosis is associated with increased risk for gliomas and hematologic malignancies. We report the case of a 71-year-old woman with colocalization of a metazoan parasite, possibly cysticercosis, and a WHO grade IV neuroepithelial tumor with exclusively neuronal differentiation by immunohistochemical stains (immunopositive for synaptophysin, neurofilament protein, and Neu-N and not for GFAP, vimentin, or S100). The colocalization and temporal relationship of these two entities suggest a causal relationship.
1. Introduction
The notion that parasitic infections may be associated with neoplastic growth has existed in the literature for nearly a century [1]. Subsequent studies have suggested and in some situations linked various parasitic infections to multiple neoplasm types including meningiomas [2], primary cerebral rhabdomyosarcoma [3], Burkitt’s lymphoma [4], cholangiocarcinoma [5], colon carcinoma [6], hepatocellular carcinoma, and bladder carcinoma [5].
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