
The most common cat borne disease in the world that can cause can cause brain damage, eye damage and madness is being looked into as a promising anti-cancer vaccine.



Scientists believe a parasite called "Toxoplasma gondii" or "T. gondii" commonly found in cat shit could hold the key to a cancer vaccine.



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Scientists estimate that up to a third of the world's population has been exposed to and might be chronically infected with T. gondii. This parasite can cause a disease called "toxoplasmosis" that is marked by flu-like symptoms and muscle aches and pains.



Cats, specifically cat shit, are the primary source of T. gondii infection in humas. Having cat shit on their hands is a significant risk factor for humans.



Researchers of this study knew T. gondii has anti-cancer properties, a fact uncovered in other studies.



Dr. David Bzik, PhD and Dr. Barbara Fox of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA that led this latest study said that when T. gondii enters the human body, cells that fight cancer such as cytotoxic T cells are produced in response.



T cells or T lymphocytes are a type of lymphocyte or a type of white blood cell that play a central role in cell-mediated immunity.



The team said that although cancer can shut down the body's immune system, T. gondii can help restart it. They created a mutant T. gondii parasite named "cps" that is unable to replicate. This makes "cps" a safe cancer vaccination.



The team created "cps" since they found it unsafe to inject live strains of the parasite into cancer patients, who already have weakened immune systems. T. gondii has to reproduce inside a human body in order to spread.



To explain how "cps" works, Dr. Bzik compared aggressive cancers to fast moving train wrecks. Dr. Bzik said "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 mice with aggressive melanoma and ovarian cancers, the mice showed significantly high survival rates.



Dr. Bzik says the cps vaccine stimulates "amazingly effective immunotherapy against cancers, superior to anything seen before."



Researchers say the vaccine might even be tailored to each patient. They explained that before "cps" can be tested in humans, they need to better understand the mechanisms behind it.



So far, researchers point out that "cps" appears to hold "incredible promise" for new cancer treatments.

