In what is believed to be an unprecedented event, a doctor inadvertently “transplanted” cancer into himself while operating on a patient.

The incident occurred when a 32-year-old man from Germany, diagnosed with a rare cancer, underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen.

During the procedure, the 53-year-old surgeon accidentally cut his hand.

The wound was promptly disinfected and bandaged, but five months later, the doctor noticed a small lump at the site of the injury and sought medical attention.

Tests revealed the lump was a malignant tumor, genetically identical to the cancer his patient had.

This led the medical team to conclude that the surgeon had inadvertently contracted the cancer when tumor cells entered the cut on his hand.

The case was considered highly unusual because, in typical transplant scenarios, the immune system rejects foreign tissue.

Yet, in this case, the doctor’s body failed to mount a proper immune response, allowing the tumor to develop and grow.

The case, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, describes the “accidental transplantation” of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma—a rare soft tissue cancer with only 1,400 diagnoses annually.

The surgeon sustained the injury on his left hand while attempting to place a drain in the cancer patient during the surgery.

While the patient’s surgery was initially successful, he later died due to complications. Five months after the incident, the doctor discovered a 1.2-inch swelling at the base of his left middle finger.

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Despite a thorough examination and numerous tests showing no abnormalities, the tumor was removed.

Microscopic analysis revealed it was also a malignant fibrous histiocytoma, identical to the patient’s.

The treating physician questioned whether the two tumors were connected, and further testing confirmed they were genetically identical.

This suggested the surgeon may have unknowingly introduced cancer cells into the wound, leading to the development of the tumor.

The authors of the case note that while tissue transplants typically provoke an immune response to reject foreign cells, the surgeon’s immune system failed to prevent the tumor’s growth.

They speculate that the cancer may have evaded immune detection due to molecular changes in the tumor cells, which allowed it to bypass the surgeon’s immune defenses.

After the tumor was removed, there were no signs of cancer recurrence or spread.

The case is notable because normally, transplanted tissue is recognized as foreign by the body’s immune system, which is why organ transplant recipients must take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection.

In this case, however, the surgeon’s immune response, though inflammatory, was ineffective in halting the tumor’s growth.

Cases like this are extremely rare, and no comprehensive data exists on instances of “transplanted” cancer.

Reported by Daily Mail