An Atypical Image Finding of Breast Sparganosis: A Case Report

Sparganosis is a parasitic infestation that is caused by the sparganum, a plerocercoid larva of the tapeworm belonging to the genus Spirometra. While a carnivorous mammal such as a dog or cat is the final host, humans are an intermediate host. Humans accidentally acquire the sparganum either by drinking contaminated water with infected cyclops or by eating raw frogs and snakes (1). The sparganum tends to mainly involve the subcutaneous tissue, and sometimes brain (2), and pleura (3). Because a sparganum tends to migrate within the subcutaneous tissue, a patient might complain of pain (4, 5). Accidentally ingested sparganum cannot mature in the abnormal host such as in humans, a larva tends to migrate to find suitable place to live. Due to this habit, known imaging finding of subcutaneous sparganosis is a mass with serpiginous or tubular structures. Although breast sparganosis is a clinically rare parasitic disease, a few cases, particularly from Korea and China, have been reported (6-9). Typical imaging find-