Pulmonary and Liver Toxocariasis Mimicking Metastatic Tumors in a Patient with Colon Cancer

Abstract

Toxocariasis is an uncommon cause of multiple cavitary lung lesions and an ill-defined liver lesion. We herein report a patient with lung and liver toxocariasis, which mimicked metastatic lesions of colon cancer on 18F-FDG PET–CT and chest and abdominal CT performed for cancer staging after diagnosis of colon cancer. The patient was diagnosed with lung and liver toxocariasis by a positive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lung toxocariasis may occur as multiple cavitary lung lesions, and liver toxocariasis may appear as a solitary ill-defined nodule, which may be misdiagnosed as metastatic tumors. Clinicians should consider toxocariasis when multiple cavitary lung lesions and a solitary ill-defined focal liver lesion are detected, especially in a patient with cancer.

Keywords

• ¹⁸F-FDG
• PET
• CT
• toxocariasis