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.