Toxoplasmosis an Overlooked Disease: Seroprevalence in Cancer Patients

Background: Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important cosmopolitan life-threatening diseases in immune-compromised patients. It is caused by an intracellular protozoon: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). The parasite can cause pneumonia, encephalitis or disseminated disease in immune-deficient patients and dangerous congenital anomalies in infants born to mothers infected during early pregnancies. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Egyptian cancer patients and to correlate the prevalence with type of malignancy and the different cancer treatment modalities. 

Materials and Methods: Blood samples from 150 cancer patients and 50 control subjects have been examined for presence of anti-toxoplasma antibodies using a lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay. 

Results: Among cancer patients included in this study, the prevalence of anti- T.gondii antibodies was 20% for IgG and 4% for IgM, while in the control group it was 8% and 2% in the same order. This difference was statistically significant for IgG (P =0.003) but not for IgM (P = 0.44). Patients with solid organ tumors treated with chemotherapy had the highest prevalence rate of toxoplasmosis (28%). It was also found higher in males (26%) than females (10%) and higher among urban (18%) than rural dwellers (16%). 

Conclusion: Cancer patients showed a significantly higher rate of infection with T. gondii than their cross-matched control. For that reason, we recommend the inclusion of a screening test for toxoplasmosis in their routine workup.