Clinical presentation
Patients with concurrent cancer and hydatid cysts may exhibit overlapping symptoms depending on the type of cancer, or the symptoms may be entirely distinct from the location of the hydatid cyst. In any scenario, individuals with a hydatid cyst may display symptoms related to the condition or remain asymptomatic. Common clinical manifestations include abdominal pain, masses, and signs of infection for hydatid cysts, while cancer-related symptoms vary based on the tumor type and location. Approximately 10% of hydatid cysts cause signs and symptoms, contingent upon their size and location. In 90% of cases, the parasitic infection is found in the liver parenchyma, followed by the lung parenchyma, with less common sites such as the spleen, kidneys, and brain 8,9. Consequently, when a patient has both cancer and a hydatid cyst, the clinical symptoms of these two conditions might not necessarily align, depending on the type of cancer and its location. However, in some patients with advanced cancer, hydatid cyst symptoms might raise suspicion of cancer progression and metastatic conditions 9. It is occasionally diagnosed as a hydatid cyst using imaging and serological tests, but the differentiation between cancer progression and a hydatid cyst is sometimes only revealed during surgery in such cases10.