Investigation on Toxoplasma gondii infections among patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract in Hainan Province / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the prevalence of the serum anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody among patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract in Hainan Province. Methods A total of 1 932 patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract were enrolled in Hainan Province from 2016 to 2019, including 376 esophageal cancer patients, 475 gastric cancer patients, 401 colorectal cancer patients, 427 hepatic cancer patients and 253 pancreatic cancer patients, and 400 healthy people served as controls. The serum IgG and IgM antibodies specific to T. gondii were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the seroprevalence was compared. Results The overall seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody was significantly greater in patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract than in healthy controls (19.82% vs. 3.75%; χ2 = 60.49, P < 0.01), and no significant difference was seen in the overall seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgM antibody between patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract and healthy controls (1.09% vs. 0.50%; χ2 = 1.17, P > 0.05). The seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody was 15.16%, 19.58%, 21.70%, 23.65% and 17.79% in patients with esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatic cancer and pancreatic cancer, which was all significantly greater than in healthy controls ( χ2 = 29.97, 50.29, 58.03, 67.85 and 36.59; all P < 0.01); however, the seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody in patients with esophageal cancer (1.06%), gastric cancer (1.47%), colorectal cancer (0.75%), hepatic cancer (1.17%) and pancreatic cancer (0.79%) did not differ from that in healthy controls ( χ2 = 0.80, 2.02, 0.20, 1.11 and 0.21; all P > 0.05). There was a significant difference in the seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody among various types of malignant tumors of the digestive tract ( χ2 = 10.65, P < 0.05); however, no significant difference was detected in the seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgM antibody ( χ2 = 1.33, P > 0.05). Conclusions There is a high seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody among patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract in Hainan Province, and there is a significant difference in the seroprevalence in terms of the cancer type. It is suggested that the screening for T. gondii infections should be intensified in patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract to effective prevent and control the damages to patients with malignant tumors of the digestive tract caused by T. gondii infections.