The sky’s not looking too good. Ohh, there it is. John Carpenter’s The Thing focuses on an alien lifeform that infects other creatures with its own cells. Once infected, these cells feed off the body, killing host cells and rapidly replacing them with its own. In effect, it is a separate organism, a parasite leeching off the host and growing, a sickly monster, equal measures alien and terrifying in nature, fully inhuman yet hidden beneath a human facade. Twisting the familiar form into horrifying monsters made of mishmashed components of the host. It could sprout multiple heads, or fuse bodies together, or grow a gaping maw full of jagged teeth anywhere. Ah it’s gross! I love it. This is what is known as body horror. Graphic violations of the human body. But that’s just something for horror movies. I mean, it’s not like you could just grow jagged teeth anywhere, right? Right? Alright, just roll the theme song. Today's episode deals with health topics that concern physical abnormalities and mutations. Those sensitive to the subject of “body horror” are advised to watch at their discretion. In addition, we will be looking at tumors and cancer. We’re not doctors, if you find any suspicious lumps or bumps, please consult your physician as quickly as possible. And with that out of the way… Let’s get into it. In 2012, a 4-month-old was taken for a brain scan when doctors noticed that his head was growing faster than was normal for infants his age. Using ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRI to investigate, the doctors noticed a tumor-like growth in his brain that was 4.1 by 4.0 by 3.5 cm in size that had constructs on its right side that looked suspiciously like the kind of calcium constructs found in the mouth... The tumor, known as a craniopharyngioma, is a rare form of brain tumor known to be benign—a fancy way of saying that it’s non-cancerous. Craniopharyngioma are mostly found in young children, formed from the lining of the brain or back of the mouth, and can push up against the pituitary gland, optic nerves, and put pressure on the brain. While risky to operate on such a large tumor, the doctors decided that surgery was required right away, only to find quite the shock. According to Dr. Edward Ahn, a pediatric neurosurgeon at John Hopkins, and the lead surgeon on this particular operation, “We had to think twice. We first thought they were flakes of calcium. When we looked at it closer, we were like, 'Those really look like teeth.'" While this form of tumor often contains calcium and keratin, in this case it went further—it had grown multiple, fully-formed teeth, something which has only been recorded in five other cases of similar tumors. Thankfully, the infant survived the operation and the tumor was successfully removed, and last my Script Goblin could find, was making good progress.Though, the tumor damaged some of the brain connections that release certain hormones, meaning that he might need hormone treatments for the rest of his life. It’s not all downsides though. The operation also added to the knowledge on these forms of tumors. In the words of Dr. Narlin Beaty, a neurosurgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, “It always has been hypothesized that this type of tumor is made from cells that form teeth. We see calcification and keratin and other parts of teeth, but very rarely do we see fully formed teeth.” But where teeth forming in this kind of tumor is rare, there’s another, more terrifying case where the macabre is more common... May, 2019. Expecting parents Lenai and Matt Schier were informed that their unborn daughter had a mass growing from her tailbone. At 20 weeks, the growth was already 3.25 lb. At this point, doctors warned the parents-to-be that their daughter had the risk of being stillborn and gave them the choice to terminate the pregnancy, which they refused. Further study revealed the growth to be a tumor, or a sacrococcygeal teratoma. At only 28 weeks, Lanai’s water broke and her daughter was delivered via C-section, and at 2lb 3oz, she was significantly smaller than the attached tumor. SCTs are typically benign. When cystic—a fancy word which here means filled with fluids—they are easily removed via surgery. But this one was made of solid tissue, complete with skin and blood vessels within it. The tumor was putting excess stress on the newborn’s heart, making it work twice as hard and making surgery necessary. But when it comes to teratoma, extra blood vessels are probably the least of your worries. Teratoma is a Greek word that translates roughly to, “monster tumor” and you know what? Yeah, spot on folks. In 2017, a 16-year-old Japanese teenager was undergoing an appendectomy—that is, an operation to remove the appendix—when surgeons discovered a tumor growing on one of her ovaries. Operating on the tumor, the surgeons soon found themselves staring down a case of body horror. The tumor contained hairs, bones, and even a tiny, malformed brain. And if that sounds horrifying, well… It is. But when it comes to teratomas, it’s not even close to the worst. In 2002, a virginal—strange detail but it’ll be important in a second— 25-year-old Japanese woman underwent surgery to remove an ovarian tumor that was identified as a mature fetiform teratoma, also known as a homunculus, which contained no paternal alleles. That is to say, this was not a baby, it did not have a father, it was a horrifyingly baby-like tumor. Unlike “parasitic twins”, where a separate embryo is absorbed in the womb, teratomas are made from our own errant cells. Specifically, like with any cancer, they form when the signals controlling cell growth fail, and the cells begin reproducing like misbehaving stem cells. This teratoma appeared like something akin to the worst nightmares Fullmetal Alchemist gave us. The tumor had grown blood vessels, bones, a spinal nerve, a head, a singular eye, an ear, teeth, a gut, a phallus, and even a brain. Some more monstrous-appearing teratomas can look like deformed fetuses, and are known as “fetus in fetu”. They are extremely rare—appearing within about 1 in 500,000 people, though some may argue that even that isn’t rare enough. In some cases they are the remains of an immature twin that did not fully develop within the womb and were absorbed by the surviving child. Most fetus in fetu teratomas do not contain a brain, though 91% have a developed spine, and 82.5% have what are called “limb nubs”, which I’m going to leave at just that. Teratomas are most commonly found in women, though can also appear in men. They typically develop on the tailbone, or within the testicles or ovaries. Typically, teratomas are noncancerous and detected in infancy, though post-puberty testicular teratomas tend to be malignant, a fancy word which here means, “cancerous”. The exact effects of a teratoma depend on where it develops, and how the body reacts. In some cases teratomas can cause an immune system reaction that leads to antibodies attacking the teratoma and the cells it is composed of. And since teratomas can be made of things like brain cells, well, it can cause issues where the immune system will attack both the teratoma, and the brain itself. Thankfully, teratomas are treatable. In all three cases we’ve seen so far, the tumors were surgically removed, though some posed more of a problem than others. In the case of the baby girl, the surgery to remove her teratoma required five blood transfusions to keep her alive. Thankfully she pulled through, and last we could find, was living a happy life. In the case of the 16-year-old, it was not a fetus in fetu teratoma, but instead an egg cell that ignored the body’s instructions to keep inert and instead began duplicating. For the 25-year-old, the teratoma was removed and in the process provided important knowledge on the development of humans. Or, to quote the case report by Naohiko Kuno et al. "A precise analysis of the nature of the present tumor, a real miniature humanoid, is relevant to the mechanism of parthenogenetic development and time/tissue/organ-specific expression of imprinted genes in human embryogenesis." For benign teratomas, surgical removal seems to be the most common method of treatment, but if the teratoma becomes cancerous then treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are employed once it’s removed. In terms of testicular teratomas, not only are post-puberty occurrences cancerous, but according to HealthEngine Australia, they’re actually the most common testicular cancer, as they emerge from germ cells which are the precursors of sperm cells and egg cells. At the end of the day, horrifying as they may be, tumors like this can actually hold a wealth of information for how we as humans develop. Being based off the same cells which lay the framework for our bodies, teratomas can teach us more about the development process of humans. That’s why teratomas can contain so many sorts of different cell material, and why in 2018 a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School used animal teratomas to grow skeletal muscles in mice that suffered from muscular dystrophy. Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, mice aren’t people—but it’s also an interesting development. One that could grow into its very own “The Thing”. So I guess it’s not just horror movies with teeth on the brain. Isn’t that a bite of knowledge? You two are quieter than usual. You okay? Who Us? Uhh… Yeah, we’re fine. Are you done showing us scary things now?
Yay!