Cancer masks of abdominal tuberculosis

Abstract

The clinical picture of abdominal tuberculosis that manifests as cancer masks was studied. Forty of 136 patients were examined. Abdominal tuberculosis was multiorgan in all the examinees and concurrent with pulmonary tuberculosis in 35% of cases. The symptoms of abdominal tuberculosis mimicked primary and metastatic tumor processes in the abdominal organs and less frequently blood cancers. Despite the similarity of the clinical manifestations of cancers and tuberculosis, in favor of abdominal tuberculosis are signs, such as prior family contacts with patients with tuberculosis (12.5%), tuberculosis-infected and prior tuberculosis (40%), infectious fever, lymphopenia in the presence of inflammation markers, the presence of calcifications in the liver, spleen (17.5%) and intraabdominal lymph nodes (25%) and a fourth of cases showed a hyperergic response to the Mantoux test with tuberculin 2 TU.