Abstract
Epidemiological data for Toxoplasma gondii regarding malignancy have gained increasing attention; however, the information about T. gondii infection among children with malignant lymphoma (ML) in China is unclear. Therefore, 314 children with lymphoma and 314 healthy children, age- and gender-matched, were recruited to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii in the participants and identify the risk factors of infection. Blood samples from all participants were collected and examined for T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies using ELISA. The results showed that the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies (including IgG and/or IgM) in ML patients and healthy controls was 19.8% and 9.9%, respectively. Contact with the cats, consumption of oysters and history of chemotherapy were estimated to be the risk factors for T. gondii infection in children with lymphoma by multivariable logistic regression analysis, whereas in healthy children, contact with cats and consumption of oysters were the risk factors. Moreover, among various histological types of lymphoma, individuals with NK/T-cell lymphoma, B-small lymphocytic lymphoma, marginal zone B-lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma had a higher seroprevalence than healthy controls (P < 0.05). These findings indicated the high prevalence of T. gondii infection in children with lymphoma, and hence, efforts should be performed to evaluate the effect of the infection further in lymphoma patients.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite that infects approximately one-third of the world population [1]
Multivariable analysis revealed that contact with cat, consumption of oysters and history of chemotherapy were significantly associated with T. gondii infection in Malignant lymphoma (ML) patients, whereas in healthy controls, contact with cat and consumption of oysters were the risk factors for the infection (Table 2)
A significant difference (P = 0.001) was detected while comparing the seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG antibodies between children with ML and healthy children, i.e. 60 ML children (19.1%) vs. 31 (9.9%) control subjects
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite that infects approximately one-third of the world population [1]. Malignant lymphoma (ML) is a common malignancy in children, with more than 13 000 new cases and 1800 disease-related deaths in China in 2015 [8]. A potential correlation between T. gondii infection and lymphoma has been reported [11,12,13]; a study conducted by Stamatovic et al did not show any such association [14], thereby rendering it controversial. A few reports have focused on T. gondii infection among children with ML in Eastern China, but little is known about the potential risk factors in this group. The present study was conducted to explore the seropositivity and risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in children with ML
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