A parasite that infects millions across Africa may quietly prime the cervix for cancer — and, surprisingly, a standard treatment for the infection could amplify that risk, new research hints.
Schistosoma haematobium, a flatworm that lives in freshwater and can penetrate the skin, is already known to raise bladder cancer risk. Now, research presented April 12 at ESCMID Global 2025 — an annual meeting about clinical microbiology and infectious diseases — has uncovered how the worm can also trigger cancer-related gene activity in the cervix, both during an active infection and after it's been cleared.
