Abstract

Adenocarcinoma of the prostate is the commonest form of cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer death.  Not much is known about the aetiology of prostatic cancer. We report a rare case of prostatic adenocarcinoma coexisting with schistosomiasis of the prostate, and review of literature. The association between schistosomiasis and cancer has been well documented in bladder cancer, implicating the genotoxic effect of chronic inflammatory process from the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the nitrosating action of bacterial infection. There are no data yet proving the association of this disease with prostate neoplasia. The theory of the genotoxic effect of chronic inflammatory process may explain a “cause and effect” association between prostate cancer and schistosomiasis. A pertinent question therefore is, does schistosomiasis cause tumorigenesis in all tissues affected? This is the first record of prostatic schistosomiasis in association with prostatic cancer in our centre.

Key words: Tropical disease, parasite, carcinoma, prostate