INTESTINAL SCHISTOSOMIASIS, A PRECANCEROU S CONDITION - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE WITH RESPECT TO CARCINOMA OF THE RECTUM, ASSOCIATED WITHSCHISTOSOMA-JAPONICUM

After a latency period of 20 years, in a 39-year-old Austrian citizen of Chinese origin, a surgically removed rectal carcinoma, as well as t he neighboring chronic inflammatory rectal mucosa with various degrees of dysplasia and one positive neighboring lymph node, showed helminth iasis in the histopathological examination, convincing us of a link be tween carcinoma and chronic helminthiasis. Whereas the etiological con text between chronic infection by Schistosoma haematobium and endemic frequent urinary bladder carcinoma is considered a matter of fact, whe ther of not the incidence of intestinal carcinoma is increased in conn ection with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis is controversial. The e tiological and pathogenetic link between helminthiasis and carcinoma s hould be considered in the same way as for other related inflammatory large-bower diseases. In the sequence chronic inflammation - severe dy splasia, the formation of carcinoma could possibly occur. Besides a su rvey of trematodes parasitology and pathology, the link between rectal carcinoma and Schistosomiasis japonicum is pointed out by means of ap propriate literature investigations.