Article Source: Life Sciences Medical News / 2019
Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic parasite that gets inside our cells, is present in about 10% of the population in the UK. But in tests on lung cancer patients, all were found to be infected with the parasite.
"It's a remarkable result which we don't fully understand yet. It is possible that the presence of the parasite in these patients is exacerbating their symptoms of cancer or interfering with their therapy." Geoff Hide, Professor of Parasitology, University of Salford
Geoff and Dr Lucy Smyth's work on lung tissue and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at Salford University, led them and PhD student Dr Jaro Bajnok to carry out additional tests on the samples to see if any contained Toxoplasma.
Working with Professor Dave Singh, clinical consultant at the Medicines Evaluation Unit at Manchester University, they tested 72 tissue samples from patients diagnosed with lung cancer and found the parasite in all of them.
Further analysis of parasite life-cycle stages suggested that 96% of these patients had active infections. Control samples returned only a 10% positive match, consistent with the national average.
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