Unusual parasite infection Two tumors removed from the liver - it was not cancer

Enigmatic patient: Tumors removed from the liver were not cancerous
In the Czech Republic, physicians have removed from one patient two large tumors from the liver that they considered to be advanced carcinomas. However, further investigations revealed that the woman did not suffer from cancer but was infected by a parasite.

Doctors assumed malignant tumors
In a 38-year-old woman in the Czech Republic, two large tumors were detected in the liver during an ultrasound examination. The doctors in the clinic of the capital Prague assumed that they were malignant tumors, so-called bile duct carcinomas. With this diagnosis, the patient was referred to the surgical department of the Prague Central Military Hospital, reports "Spiegel Online". There she was operated. Later, however, the doctors found that the woman did not have cancer. The magazine refers in its report to a publication of the case in the "International Journal of Surgery Case Reports".

After removing two tumors from the liver of a female patient in the Czech Republic, the physicians determined that they were not malignant tumors. The woman was infected by parasites. (Image: satyrenko / fotolia.com)

Areas of tissue were dead
In the military center hospital, a computer tomography of the woman's ribcage had first been made. The doctors discovered two smaller lumps in the lungs. They suspected that the cancer had already spread.

A few weeks later, the surgeons removed the tumors from the lungs.

When the excised tissue was examined, it was found that areas of it had died. The pathologists, however, could not confirm that they were malignant tumors.

In the following month, the patient removed the part of the liver in which the two large tumors were located. Again, the pathologists found that the tissue had died from large areas.

Part of the liver destroyed
However, it showed that in the midst of these areas holes of various sizes were praised. The patient obviously had no bile duct carcinoma.

In further tests, the physicians finally found that the woman's liver had been attacked by parasites. These had destroyed part of the organ.

These were larvae of the small fox tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis). The patient suffered from a so-called alveolar echinococcosis.

According to "Spiegel Online" the woman received after the corrected diagnosis of a worm to kill possible larvae. She recovered well from the surgery.

Radek Pohnan and his colleagues, who reported on the patient's case in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, were unable to find evidence of worm infestation 15 months after the procedure.

The news magazine points out that despite the false diagnosis at the beginning, it was the right therapy to cut out the affected, dead tissue.

Rare but potentially fatal infection
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) "is a rare but potentially fatal parasitic infection that primarily affects the liver but can also metastasize to the lungs, brain and other organs," write Pohnan and his colleagues.

Although worm diseases are relatively rare in this country, experts have pointed out in the past that the risk of fox tapeworm infestation is also increasing in the cities.

In the "Ärzte Zeitung" it was reported in this context that Ulm and the surrounding area are regarded as the "epicenter" of the rare parasitic disease, as up to 70 percent of the foxes in the region carry the pathogen.

The animals have adapted to the city life. Therefore, their feces with tapeworm eggs are also often found in sandboxes or on vegetable beds. This remains contagious for months.

Also from northern Germany was already warned of the health hazards by the fox tapeworm.

Protect against worm diseases
To protect yourself from infestation with a tapeworm, some measures should be followed.

"Generally, you should wash ground-level fruits and vegetables before eating. Apart from compliance with common hygiene rules, it makes sense to deworm dogs and cats every three months, "said physicians at the University Hospital Ulm.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has summarized on its website important information on fox band infections.

And the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) is on the portal "kindergesundheit-info.de" instructions on how to prevent worm diseases.

If a worm infestation is suspected, a doctor must always be consulted. The respective therapy can - if it is discussed with the physician - be supported by home remedies for worms. (Ad)