Hope for Mesothelioma? Parasite Triggers Tumor Regression in the Lab
A parasite found in cat feces triggered tumor regression in recent animal studies in China. It is a hopeful sign that the same process might be adapted to help human mesothelioma patients, too. The parasite is toxoplasma gondii. It is a single-celled parasite that can only replicate inside live host cells. It is typically found in the feces of cats or in soil or water contaminated by their feces. It is capable of entering most cells in most warm-blooded animals. The goal of the new Chinese study was to determine whether toxoplasma gondii could modulate immune response in tumors. If it can, it might help immunotherapy drugs cause tumor regression in people with mesothelioma and other hard-to-treat cancers. How Mesothelioma…