cat feces can help cure cancer (the toxoplasma gondii parasite!)

T. gondii is a single-celled parasite that resides in the
intestines of any warm-blooded animal, although its ideal environment is
a cat's intestines.

Researchers say a parasite commonly found in cat feces - T. gondii - could hold the key to a cancer vaccine.

The parasite can be contracted through eating undercooked, contaminated
meat, drinking contaminated water and ingesting it by coming into
contact with cat feces that contain T. gondii. This can happen when cleaning a cat litter tray, for example.

T. gondii can cause a disease called toxoplasmosis, which can
trigger flu-like symptoms and muscle aches and pains. Severe forms of
the disease - most common among those with a weak immune system - can
cause brain, eye or organ damage. However, the majority of people
infected with T. gondii do not experience any symptoms.

According to the researchers of this latest study - including David J.
Bzik, PhD, and Barbara Fox of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
College in Hanover, NH - they already knew that T. gondii has anti-cancer properties.

They explain that when the parasite enters the human body, cells that effectively fight cancer
- such as cytotoxic T cells - are produced as a response. The team says
that although cancer can shut down the body's immune system, T. gondii can help restart it.

Mutant T. gondii parasite the 'super strong hero' that halts cancer progression

Since T. gondii replicates inside the body in order to spread,
the researchers note that it is unsafe to inject live strains of the
parasite into cancer patients, who will already have weakened immune
systems.

As such, they created a mutant T. gondii parasite - named "cps" - that is unable to replicate, which they say makes it a safe cancer vaccination. According to Bzik:

"Aggressive cancers too often seem like fast moving train
wrecks. Cps is the microscopic, but super strong, hero that catches the
wayward trains, halts their progression and shrinks them until they
disappear."

On testing the cps vaccine on mouse models with aggressive
melanoma and ovarian cancer, the mice showed significantly high survival
rates. Bzik says the cps vaccine stimulates "amazingly effective
immunotherapy against cancers, superior to anything seen before."

The researchers say the vaccine could even be tailored to each patient.
"In translating cps therapy to the clinic, we imagine cps will be
introduced into cells isolated from the patient," Bzik explains.

"Then, Trojan Horse cells harboring cps will be given back to the
patient as an immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine to generate the ideal
immune responses necessary to eradicate their cancer cells and to also
provide life-long immunity against any future recurrence of that
cancer."

The researchers note that before cps can be tested in humans, they need
to better understand the mechanisms behind it. However, they say that so
far, it appears to hold "incredible promise" for new cancer treatments.

Medical News Today recently reported on a study published in The Journal of Leukocyte Biology that suggested antihistamines may be effective against cancer.

Written by Honor Whiteman