In a highly unusual and rather alarming medical occurrence, a surgeon developed cancer after being accidentally exposed to his patient's tumor cells during surgery.
The incident involved a 53-year-old surgeon who was treating a 32-year-old patient with malignant fibrous histiocytoma--a rare form of cancer. During the procedure, the surgeon sustained an injury on his palm, resulting in direct exposure to the patient’s cancerous cells. The wound, however, was immediately disinfected and bandaged.
Five months later, a 1.2-inch tumor developed at the site of the doctor's injury. Extensive examination and genetic analysis confirmed that the tumor in the surgeon was identical to the cancer cells from the patient's malignant fibrous histiocytoma, providing evidence of transmission.
Normally, the body induces an immune response when a tissue from another person is transmitted to another. However, in the surgeon's case, an "ineffective antitumor immune response" may have led to him catching his patient's cancer.
Two years after the diagnosis, the surgeon had recovered and there were no signs of recurrence of the tumor.
This rare case of cancer transmission was first documented in a 1996 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine but has gained renewed interest after being republished online.
This is the first of its kind transmission to be documented. It serves as a cautionary tale for medical professionals and highlights the importance of rigorous safety measures to minimize such risks.
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