Exposure to common food-borne parasite linked to rare brain cancer

New York, Jan 11 : If you eat undercooked meat then you may need to stop it, as researchers have found a link between toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and the risk of glioma, a rare type of brain cancer, in adults.
T. gondii is a common parasite that is most commonly acquired from undercooked meat and may lead to the formation of cysts in the brain.
The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, suggests that people who have glioma are more likely to have antibodies to T. gondii (indicating that they have had a previous infection) than a similar group that is cancer free.
“The findings do suggest that individuals with higher exposure to the T. gondii parasite are more likely to go on to develop glioma,” said lead researcher James M. Hodge from the Department of Population Science, American Cancer Society, Atlanta.
“However, it should be noted that the absolute risk of being diagnosed with a glioma remains low, and these findings need to be replicated in a larger and more diverse group of individuals,” Hodge added.
For the study, the research team examined the association between T. gondii antibodies measured several years before the cancer was diagnosed and the risk of developing a glioma.