Background: Blastocystis, a genetically diverse intestinal parasite with controversial pathogenic potential, has\nincreasingly been incriminated for diarrheal illness in immunocompromised individuals including colorectal\ncancer (CRC) patients. The aim of the current study was to assess the possible association between Blastocystis infection\nand CRC condition in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (KSA).\nMethods: Stool samples were collected from 80 non-cancer (NC) and 138 cancer subjects including 74 CRC patients\nand 64 patients with other cancers outside gastrointestinal tract (COGT). Molecularly confirmed Blastocystis isolates\nwere genetically grouped and subtyped using multiplex polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length\npolymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequence-tagged site primers-based PCR (PCR-STS), respectively.\nResults: Blastocystis hominis were confirmed in 29.7, 25 and 15% among CRC, COGT and NC patients, respectively.\nObtained Blastocystis isolates were initially categorized into 2 groups (A and C), which were subsequently subtyped\ninto 3 different subtypes; subtype-I (38%), subtype-II (44%) and subtype-V (22%). Interestingly, subtype-I was the most\npredominantly detected subtype (54.5%) among CRC patients with a significant association risk (COR 7.548; 95% CI:\n1.629ââ?¬â??34.987; P = 0.004).\nConclusion: To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to provide genetic insights on the prevalence\nof Blastocystis hominis among CRC patients in Makkah, KSA. Moreover, the study suggests for a possible association\nbetween subtype-I of Blastocystis hominis and CRC, which could indicate a potential influence of Blastocystis on CRC\ncondition. Further studies are required to confirm this association risk and to investigate the possible underlying\nmechanism of postulated carcinogenic influence of Blastocystis hominis subtype-I.
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