CANCER gave an American man a random Irish accent, medics claim.
The patient, who was not named, started speaking like a Paddy despite never having been to the country, in what is believed to be a world-first.
GettyAn American man in his 50s started speaking in an Irish accent because of an incredibly rare reaction to prostate cancer. Pictured: A prostate cancer cell[/caption]
He had been battling prostate cancer for nearly two years before seeking treatment for the “uncontrollable Irish brogue”.
Doctors in North Carolina diagnosed him with foreign accent syndrome — an extremely rare condition that is usually caused by strokes or head injuries.
Dr Amanda Broderick, of Duke University Health System, Durham, said his case was caused by an immune reaction to cancer mistakenly attacking his nervous system.
She said: “The patient had never been to Ireland and had never previously spoken in an Irish accent, though he had Irish family and had lived in England briefly in his 20s.
“His accent was uncontrollable, present in all settings and gradually became persistent.”
Around 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK, with around 12,000 dying.
The disease usually progresses slowly and patients can live for decades without symptoms or needing treatment.
Doctors usually test for it by inserting a gloved finger up your bottom, but experts hope a new blood test will be able to detect cases earlier on.
Prostate cancer has never previously been linked to foreign accent syndrome.
Only around 100 people in the world have ever been diagnosed with the strange condition.
It is usually caused by damage to the parts of the brain responsible for speech, although it can also be brought on by problems with moving the jaw and tongue.
The latest bizarre case was first reported in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:
needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
needing to rush to the toilet
difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
straining or taking a long time while peeing
weak flow
feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
blood in urine or blood in semen
Source: The NHS
Doctors said it was caused by paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND) — when the immune system starts attacking the brain.
This can affect muscle movement or coordination problem, as well as affecting thinking skills and memory.
The man was receiving andogen deprivation therapy — a treatment to lower male hormones — as part of his cancer treatment.
He was also given chemo and radiotherapy, but the disease was continuing to progress when he noticed the voice change.
Doctors said he had not suffered any head bangs or psychological problems.
Scans on his brain also did not reveal any changes.
But his cancer developed to neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a deadly form of the disease that has been linked to PND.
His symptoms continued to get worse and he moved to hospice care, where died shortly afterwards.