Cancer from tapeworm can infect human host: CDC

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The scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported that the puzzling death of a 41-year-old man was caused by lung cancer tumors from an infected tapeworm that lived inside him.

The man from Medellin, Colombia was the first person known to become sick of cancer cells that come from a parasite. The man died three days later after it was known that he was infected by a tapeworm classified as H. nana, one of the most common in the world.

"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 tumors," said lead author Dr. Atis Muehlenbachs, a pathologist from CDC's Infectious Disease Pathology office.

"In January 2013, a 41-year-old man in Medellín, Colombia, presented with fatigue, fever, cough, and weight loss of several months' duration. He had received a diagnosis of HIV infection in 2006," the researchers wrote online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The man reportedly sought medical help and a CT scan showed tumors in his lungs and lymph nodes. Upon further inspection, the tumor biopsies revealed that the cells were strange as they acted like cancer cells but were 10 times smaller than human cancer cells. The Colombian doctors sought the assistance of CDC.

According to Live Science, the man was had been diagnosed with HIV a decade earlier but was not taking his medications. The outlet stated that his weakened immune system may have played a role in the man's bizarre condition.

"The tumors looked similar to human cancer, but initial CDC lab studies revealed the cancer-like cells were not human," said CDC, as reported by NBC News.

The investigators were baffled as it is the first known occurrence for a parasite to pass on cancer to its host. According to Healthline, only a few strains of the virus can cause cancer in humans including human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus and the human T-cell lymphotropic virus 1.

"We think this type of event is rare," said Muehlenbachs. "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 unrecognized. It's definitely an area that deserves more study."