A rare form of prostate cancer caused a man in his 50s to suddenly speak in an accent that sounded remarkably like Irish “brogue,” a stark change that stayed with him for the rest of his life.
In the medical literature, there are only two other reports of cancers causing foreign accent syndrome (FAS). This is the first case specifically linked to prostate cancer, reports Al-Rai daily.
FAS is defined as an unusual speech disorder that can cause an individual to suddenly speak with a “foreign” accent for no known reason, with articulation changing in ways that resemble, at least superficially, the rhythm of another accent or language.
The syndrome is most commonly associated with strokes or traumatic brain injuries. The most famous case, for example, was that of a Norwegian woman in 1941, who was hit in the head during the bombing of Oslo and after a few months began speaking with what sounded like a German accent.
A more recent example appeared in the news just a few years ago, when an Arizona woman woke up talking like Mary Poppins. In her case, the cause was not clear. Cases that are definitely related to tumors of some kind are less common. In fact, there are only two other examples listed in the literature.
According to a case study published in 2008, a woman in her 60s began speaking in a different, undefined accent after breast cancer spread to her brain. In a similar case, an Italian woman in her fifties with a brain tumor began speaking at a different rhythm and melody.
Despite the interest in stories where people suddenly develop certain foreign accents, most cases of FAS are general changes in speech production that cannot be easily linked to any specific geographic area.
The recent case of a man from the United States who was diagnosed with prostate cancer is a rare example of a change in voice that closely resembles a recognizable accent.