Abstract
BackgroundGongylonema pulchrum is a zoonotic parasite rarely found in humans. To date, there have been no reports on the carcinogenic properties of G. pulchrum, and there are few reports overall on the relationship between esophageal cancer and parasites.Case presentationThis report describes the first case of esophageal gongylonemiasis coexisting with early esophageal cancer. The patient had no high-risk factors for esophageal cancer, such as smoking, flushing after drinking, or tumor history. We speculate the existence of unknown links between esophageal cancer and parasitic infection in this patient.Discussion and conclusionsWe report the first case of a human presenting both esophageal G. pulchrum infection and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with the hope that it may provide evidence for a new hypothesis of tumorigenesis.
Highlights
Discussion and conclusionsWe report the first case of a human presenting both esophageal G. pulchrum infection and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with the hope that it may provide evidence for a new hypothesis of tumorigenesis
Gongylonema pulchrum is a zoonotic parasite rarely found in humans
G. pulchrum infections commonly occur in ruminants, such as domestic cattle, which are a suitable definitive host; infection has been reported in equids, bears, skunks, swine, primates, rodents, rabbits, hedgehogs, and birds [3]
Summary
The gullet worm G. pulchrum (Molin, 1857) is a parasite in the upper digestive tract of various mammals around the world and does not normally infect humans. Mature nematodes can live in the body for 1 year or even more than 10 years [3] As mentioned above, this infection rarely occurs in humans, with fewer than 200 cases since the first case of human gongylonemiasis was reported in 1850 [3, 9]. This infection rarely occurs in humans, with fewer than 200 cases since the first case of human gongylonemiasis was reported in 1850 [3, 9] In humans, these worms are often found in the oral cavity, where they mostly cause the sensation of a migrating thread-like form, irritation, minor aches, and nausea, with no lesions noticed [10]. This report is the first case of esophageal G. pulchrum infection combined with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in humans.
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