Frequency of intestinal parasites in patients with stomach cancer

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in patients with gastric cancer (CA) and to demonstrate the significance of intestinal parasitic infections in this patient group. The study was conducted between 01.08.2017 and 01.12.2018 at Van Yuzuncu Yil University Dursun Odabas Medical Center Parasitology Laboratory. The patient and control groups included patients who applied to Internal Medicine Polyclinics. The patient group included 100 patients (40 females and 60 males), and the control group included 100 individuals (50 females and 50 males). The stool samples taken from the patient and control groups were examined under microscope for intestinal parasites with the native-Lugol method and then they were multiplexed by the formalin-ethyl acetate method and stained by the modified acid-fast method. In the present study, it was determined that intestinal parasites were positive in 14% in the patients with gastric CA and in 2% in the control group. In the patient group, 11% of the patients were positive for Blastocystis hominis (4% abundant B. hominis), 4% were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., 2% were positive for Giardia intestinalis, and 1% were positive for Cyclospora cayetanensis. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference between gastric CA group and control group based on intestinal parasitic positivity (p = 0.028). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the 51 and older age groups in patient and control groups based on intestinal parasite positivity (p = 0.012) and abundant B. hominis positivity (p= 0.041). Statistical analysis of the parasitic positivity in patients with gastric CA based on gender demonstrated a significant difference (p = 0.004) between the patients and the control group. It was observed that patients who were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., C. cayetensis, G. intestinalis and abundant B. hominis suffered diarrhea in the patient group. Based on these findings, it was concluded that all gastric CA patients, especially those with diarrhea, should be assessed for intestinal parasites by both native-Lugol and modified acid-fast staining methods. Key words: Gastric cancer, İntestinal parasites, Prevalence