[Intestinal schistosomiasis, a facultative precancerous condition? Review of the literature with reference to Schistosoma japonicum associated rectum carcinoma].

After a latency period of 20 years, in a 39-year-old Austrian citizen of Chinese origin, a surgically removed rectal carcinoma, as well as the neighboring chronic inflammatory rectal mucosa with various degrees of dysplasia and one positive neighboring lymph node, showed helminthiasis in the histopathological examination, convincing us of a link between carcinoma and chronic helminthiasis. Whereas the etiological context between chronic infection by Schistosoma haematobium and endemic frequent urinary bladder carcinoma is considered a matter of fact, whether of not the incidence of intestinal carcinoma is increased in connection with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis is controversial. The etiological and pathogenetic link between helminthiasis and carcinoma should be considered in the same way as for other related inflammatory large-bowel diseases. In the sequence chronic inflammation-severe dysplasia, the formation of carcinoma could possibly occur. Besides a survey of trematodes parasitology and pathology, the link between rectal carcinoma and Schistosomiasis japonicum is pointed out by means of appropriate literature investigations.