SEROPREVALENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII AMONG CANCER PATIENTS IN AL-AMAL CENTER FOR TREATMENT OF CANCER PATIENTS IN TAIZ CITY, YEMEN

The current study was done in Taiz city during the period from March 2019 to march 2020, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among cancer patients and to determine the association of T. gondii seropositivity in cancer patients with gender, age and number of chemical doses in Al-Amal Center for Treatment of Cancer Patients in Taiz governorate, Yemen, using serological test by rapid devise Toxo-kits method. A total of 368 blood samples from cancer patients were collected and examined for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies. The overall T. gondii seroprevalence, including both Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) positive individuals was 42.12% (155/368). The seroprevalence rate of IgG and IgM antibodies was 41.58% (153/368) and 14.13% (52/368), respectively. Regarding sex, no statistically significant difference was found, with 65 seropositive out of 148 (43.92%) in males and 90 out of 220 (40.91%) in females (P>0.05). The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was high in all age groups, especially in younger and older cancer patients (aged from 1-10 and >80 years old), (50.00%) in each; while the lower seroprevalence (25.81%) was detected in cancer patients aged 21 to 30 years old, but the differences were not significant (P> 0.05). Moreover, the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis was higher in individuals treated with chemotherapy (43.07%) than those not used chemotherapy (39.60%), with no significant difference (P>0.05). T. gondii infection remains a major threat to cancer patients, and it needs proper screening, diagnosis and treatment.