Recent advances in the fields of molecular biology, epidemiology and infectious diseases have led to significant revelations to clarify the relationship between cancer and infective agents. This article reviews the relationship between parasitic infections and carcinogenesis and the possible mechanisms involved. Few parasites, e.g.,
Schistosoma haematobium
and
Opisthorchis viverrini
have been found to be strongly associated with bladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma respectively. The evidence for the association of several other parasites and cancers has also been postulated.
