Association between Toxoplasma gondii exposure and paediatrics haematological malignancies: a case–control study

Abstract

The possible association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and paediatric haematological malignancies in a group of patients and control subjects was evaluated in the present study. We performed an age-, gender- and residence frequency-matched case-control study of 101 blood cancer patients under 18 years of age, all of which were treated in Amirkola Pediatric Hospital. One hundred and thirty-eight control samples were gathered from the outpatient clinic in the hospital. All cases and controls were tested for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and then IgG-positive subjects were evaluated for IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunoassays. Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 37 (36.6%) of the cases and 12 (8.7%) subjects in the control group (odds ratio 6.07, 95% confidence interval 2.963-12.437, P < 0.0001). The median and interquartile range (IQR) of IgG titre from case group (7.7 (IQR 0.25-13.5)) was higher than the control (0.2 (IQR 0.1-0.5)) (P < 0.0001). The frequency of anti-T. gondii antibodies (IgG) in lymphoblastic leukaemia (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia), Hodgkin's lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma were 33 (31.9%), 3 (50%) and 1(100%), respectively. Anti-T. gondii IgM was not detected in the IgG-positive patients in case group. In the case subjects, no significant difference was seen in the positive rates of T. gondii infection between genders (37.3% in male; 35.7% in female; P = 0.52) and ages groups (P = 0.31). This study demonstrated that T. gondii infection is prevalent in children with blood cancer. It also showed that toxoplasmosis may possibly be linked with an increased risk of childhood haematologic malignancies. Furthermore, these results may be helpful in research on blood neoplasia aetiology.

Increased Risk of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Patients with Colorectal Cancer in Eastern China: Seroprevalence, Risk Factors, and a Case–Control Study

“…Several studies demonstrate a latent relationship between toxoplasmosis and malignancy, including with brain and oral cancers [ 7 – 9 ]. In recent studies, patients with hematologic malignancies had higher seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies [ 10 , 11 ]. Moreover, in Iran, T .…”

Correlation of latent toxoplasmosis in cancer patients in Iraq and its neighboring countries (2010 – 2019) (review)

“…In Iran (553) out of (1,244) cancer patients was IgG seropositive to toxoplasmosis. In Iran the most common cancer type is leukaemia, and according to resent studies about 661 / million children under 14 years old are diagnosed with leukaemia, this can explain that the mortality rates associated with the sero-positive of toxoplasmosis [30]. In southwest of Iran most investigation according to several studies concluded that the children with malignance cancer diagnosed with high prevalence of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis and they requires special attention [17].…”

Estudio multicéntrico, de seroprevalencia de IgG Toxoplasma gondii en niños con cáncer de la red del Programa Infantil Nacional de Drogas Antineoplásicas en la Región Metropolitana, Chile

“…En condiciones inmunológicas normales, la infección por T. gondii es usualmente asintomática y autolimitada 4 , pese a que se ha descrito su asociación con el desarrollo de diversas enfermedades tales como cirrosis hepática, epilepsia, esquizofrenia 4,5 e incluso leucemia en niños 4 .…”

“…Los pacientes con cáncer son un grupo considerable de hospederos inmunocomprometidos, tomando en cuenta que cada año se diagnostican cerca de 300.000 casos de cáncer en personas bajo 19 años en el mundo 4 . La neoplasia más frecuente es la hematológica, que representa cerca de 45% del total de nuevos diagnósticos pediátricos.…”

“…En un estudio realizado en el Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna, de Santiago de Chile, en el año 1991, se objetivó una seroprevalencia para IgG T. gondii en niños con cáncer en quimioterapia de 37,5% 9 . En el ámbito internacional, un estudio casocontrol realizado en Irán entre 2016-2017, encontró una seroprevalencia de IgG T. gondii en niños con leucemia aguda de 36,6% 4 .…”