Link between prostate cancer and Toxoplasma gondii
A study published on the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes Of Health website has come to the conclusion that there is a link between Toxoplasma gondii and prostate cancer.
More particularly, the study identifies that the parasite is a trigger of prostatic inflammation. They say that inflammation is the most prevalent and widespread histological finding “in the human prostate”. Inflammation of the prostate gland is associated with the development of “benign prostatic hyperplasia” and prostate cancer.
The study comes to the conclusion that it is the first to find that this parasite induces chronic inflammation within the prostate of any species. In case a reader of this article is unaware, the domestic cat is the primary host of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite.
Clearly, I do not wish to report on this but I feel that I have a duty to. In fact I have resisted reporting on it because I know that there will be some trolls who will pick up on this and use it to criticise the domestic cat.
Obviously I strongly dislike the domestic cat being criticised because it can undermine their welfare. But nonetheless this report needs to be discussed. At this stage I have no idea where this research will lead. Clearly, it does not mean that all men should give up their cats. That would be idiotic. The main reason for that statement is because the most common cause of transmission of Toxoplasma gondii to humans is the handling of raw meat and vegetables. But another way that a human can pick up the parasite is through handling cat litter.
