A 53-year-old surgeon in Germany is believed to be the only person in the world to have contracted cancer from a patient during an operation. The rare incident occurred when the doctor accidentally cut his hand while removing a tumor from a 32-year-old patient’s abdomen.
The patient’s tumor was a rare type of cancer called malignant fibrous histiocytoma, which develops in soft tissue. The surgeon’s wound was immediately disinfected and bandaged, but five months later, he noticed a small lump developing at the site of the injury.
Further examination revealed that the lump was a malignant tumor genetically identical to the patient’s original tumor. The medical team concluded that the tumor cells must have entered the surgeon’s body through the cut on his hand and taken root.
The case is unusual because the surgeon’s body did not mount an effective immune response to the tumor cells, allowing the cancer to grow. The incident is a reminder that even medical professionals are not immune to contracting rare and unexpected illnesses.
The case was first reported in 1996 and has recently resurfaced with renewed interest. Researchers have concluded that the incidence of cancer transmission from donor to recipient is extremely low, and there is limited data on the subject. However, the data that is available suggests that a range of cancers can be transmitted, including breast, colon, liver, lung, melanoma, ovarian, prostate, and renal cancer.
