Abstract
Objectives: The potential linkage between Cryptosporidium spp. infection and colorectal human cancer was suggested by limited reports showing higher prevalence of C. parvum and C. hominis in patients with colon cancer. Here we conducted research concerning presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in malignant tissue collected from patients with colorectal cancer.Methods: Cancerous colon tissue samples collected from 145 non-HIV infected patients with colorectal cancer were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. by immunofluorescence antibody test and genus-specific nested polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing.Results: Screened pathogen was found in cancerous tissue originating from immunocompetent man with colon adenocarcinoma. Genotyping revealed presence of Cryptosporidium meleagridis. The presence of Cryptosporidium life cycle stages (oocysts and endogenous stages) in colon carcinoma tissue was confirmed by genus-specific FITC-labeling.Conclusions: Herein, we report on a C. meleagridis infection of a colon adenocarcinoma in an immunocompetent patient. This is the first report of C. meleagridis infection in the human colon and first evidence of active development of this species in cancer tissue.
Highlights
Cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease caused by species of protist parasites in the genus Cryptosporidium, can be severe and life-threatening in those with a compromised or underdeveloped immune system
C. felis infection has been detected in a child after liver transplantation (Bednarska et al, 2018) and C. meleagridis infection has only been confirmed in three immunodeficient patients; two children, with CD40L primary deficiency (Bajer et al, 2008) and with X linked hyperIgM syndrome type 1 (XHIM syndrome) (Wolska-Kusnierz et al, 2007), and in a woman with AIDS suffering from persisted diarrhea (Wesołowska et al, 2016)
Cryptosporidium meleagridis DNA was confirmed in one patient and no other species of Cryptosporidium were found in the tumor tissues of the rest of study group
Summary
Cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease caused by species of protist parasites in the genus Cryptosporidium, can be severe and life-threatening in those with a compromised or underdeveloped immune system. More than 90% of human cases are caused by C. hominis, a species that is generally restricted to humans, and C. parvum, a species that infects a broad range of mammals. Estimated prevalence of human cryptosporidiosis in Poland (1.4–2.3%) has been available from limited research studies and based on the data from the National Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Hygiene in Poland and 24 findings of Cryptosporidium spp. have been reported from 2007 to 2016 (Wolska-Kusnierz et al, 2007; Bajer et al, 2008; Wesołowska et al, 2016; Bednarska et al, 2018). In the rest of the world, such cases have been linked to travels to endemic countries or to contact with poultry (Leoni et al, 2006; Cama et al, 2008; Elwin et al, 2012; Silverlås et al, 2012)
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