Link between T gondii infection, risk of glioma observed

Toxoplasma gondii (T gondii) infection may increase the risk of glioma, according to a new study that provided the first prospective evidence of this potential association.

In this prospective study, 2 cohorts using a nested case‐control study design were selected from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study‐II Nutrition Cohort (n = 37 cases and 74 controls) and the Norwegian Cancer Registry’s Janus Serum Bank (n = 323 cases and 323 controls).

An increase in the risk of glioma was observed amongst participants infected with T gondii in both cohorts. This was most common in participants with high antibody titers specific to the sag‐1 antigen.

The authors concluded that more studies with larger cohorts are needed “to confirm a potential etiologic role for T gondii in glioma.”

Reference
Hodge J, Coghill AE, Kim Y, et al. Toxoplasma gondii infection and the risk of adult glioma in two prospective studies. Int J Cancer. 2021; https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33443