Cystic echinococcosis: a disease mimicking cancer in a non-endemic country report of two cases.

Echinococcosis is a parasitic disease that involves dogs as definitive host and sheep as intermediate host. Humans become infected incidentally through fecal-oral contact, particularly in the course of playful and close contact with an infected dog. Mexico is considered a region that is virtually free of cystic echinoccocosis. This manuscript describes two cases that were referred to a tertiary-care oncology hospital with a diagnosis of cancer. In one case, the presumptive diagnosis was liver cancer because abdominal ultrasonography revealed a low-density mass in the right hepatic lobe. Drainage was performed and cytologic examination of the fluid showed multiple Echinococcus cyst as well as prostoscolex. The case was resolved with percutaneous drainage and administration of albendazole for two months. In the second case, the patient was referred with a diagnosis of disseminated cervical cancer A cyst was identified in the upper right lung lobe; a diagnostic puncture was performed showing an Echinococcus cyst. This resolved solely with two months of albendazole administration.