Cysticercosis Mimicking Fibroadenoma of the Breast in a Young Female: A Case Report From North Central Nigeria

The parasitic infestation, cysticercosis, arises when humans are infested with the larvae (cysticerci) of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium (T. solium). Epidemiologically, cysticercosis presents a worldwide distribution due in part to endemicity in developing countries in Latin America, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, and increased migration from these countries to more developed countries in Europe and North America. Cysticercosis may be asymptomatic or may manifest clinical symptoms and signs depending on which part of the body cysticerci are found, including skeletal and heart muscle, skin, subcutaneous tissues, the lungs, liver, the central nervous system (CNS), and less commonly, the oral mucosa and breast. We report a case of a mass in the left breast in an 11-year-old Nigerian girl, which was diagnosed clinically and on ultrasonography as fibroadenoma but was confirmed on histology to be cysticercosis. Cysticercosis should be included in the differential diagnoses of breast lumps in persons of all ages and sex, especially in endemic areas and in places with significant immigration from endemic areas.