An older case report is gaining renewed attention as it sparks controversy in the medical community. The 1996 case describes how a surgeon developed a malignant tumour on his hand after conducting an operation to remove a malignant fibrous histiocytoma from a patient.

Gärtner H-V, Seidl C, Luckenbach C, et al. Genetic Analysis of a Sarcoma Accidentally Transplanted from a Patient to a Surgeon. The New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;335:1494–1497.

What happened and over what time span?

The surgeon injured his hand during the procedure and, 5 months later, showed a specialist that he had developed tumour-like swelling in the area of the injury. The tumour was excised, and examinations revealed it to be a malignant fibrous histiocytoma—the same type of growth he had removed from his patient. The case report states that the surgeon remained in good condition when checked 2 years after the removal and that there was “no evidence of recurrence or metastasis of the tumour.”

While the researchers wrote that the surgeon’s condition was “good,” their findings raised questions about how the doctor’s tumour developed and whether it escaped “immunologic destruction.”

The implication of the immune system is a critical factor at play, as cancer is not a contagious disease and cannot pass from one person to another through physical contact.

American Cancer Society. Is Cancer Contagious? March 4, 2021.

Medical community reacts

Jack Jacoub, MD, a board-certified medical oncologist and Medical Director of MemorialCare Cancer Institute, Orange Coast Medical Center and Saddleback Medical Center in Orange County, CA, explains that cancer develops through a “lot of processes” in the body that cannot be compared to the workings of a viral infection.

Still, there are some safeguards at play that reduce the risks of cancer cells being transferred from one patient to another under certain surgical circumstances, such as organ transplantation. 

What about organ transplants?

When it comes to organ transplants, it can be hard to study the cancer risks at play. As researchers wrote in a 2013 study, there will “never be a randomiSed study” in this area.

Chapman JR, Webster AC, Wong G. Cancer in the Transplant Recipient. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 2013;3:a015677.

As a result, they add, “the incidence of any cancer transmission is so low that sporadic case reports are the main source of information.”

People can report adverse outcomes of organ transplants, including cancer development, to the World Health Organization (WHO) through its Notify Library site. 

As for cases like the 1996 doctor, however, these appear few and far between.