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Case Report Open Access

Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature

  • Authors:
    • Lana R.A. Pshtiwan
    • Abdulwahid M. Salih
    • Hiwa O. Abdullah
    • Halkawt Omer Ali
    • Khanda A. Anwar
    • Ari M. Abdullah
    • Shko H. Hassan
    • Sasan M. Ahmed
    • Fattah H. Fattah
    • Rawa M. Ali
    • Shaban Latif
    • Bushra O. Hussein
  • View Affiliations / Copyright

    Affiliations: Department of Scientific Affairs, Smart Health Tower, Sulaymaniyah 46001, Iraq, Kscien Organization for Scientific Research (Middle East Office), Sulaymaniyah 46001, Iraq
    Copyright: © Pshtiwan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY 4.0].
  • Article Number: 112
    |
    Published online on: September 25, 2025
       https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2025.400
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Abstract

Hydatid disease is a zoonotic infection with a diverse range of clinical presentations. Breast involvement is an extremely rare occurrence. The present study describes the case of an elderly female patient who presented with a longstanding breast hydatid cyst (HC) masquerading as a painless mass. A 79‑year‑old female patient presented with a slowly enlarging lump in her left breast for the past 20 years. A mammography revealed a circumscribed, hyperdense mass. The lump was surgically excised. A histopathological examination revealed benign breast ducts and lobules in a fibrous stroma containing a well‑defined cyst composed of lamellated, chitinous layers of a HC. In addition, a review of 11 cases of breast HC in females identified in the literature revealed that the disease frequently presented as a painless, slowly growing breast mass. The disease duration prior to presentation ranged from 2 to 36 months. The cysts were located in the left breast in 8 cases, in the right breast in 2 cases, and there was bilateral involvement in 1 case. The majority of these cysts were localized to the upper outer quadrant. On the whole, as demonstrated herein, breast HC can remain asymptomatic for a long period of time and may masquerade as a gradually enlarging, painless breast mass.
View Figures

Figure 1

Mammography imaging illustrating an
oval, hyperdense, layering calcified lesion in the upper outer part
of the left breast, suggestive of a calcified hydatid cyst. (A)
Craniocaudal view, (B) mediolateral oblique view.

Figure 2

(A) The surgical bed following
excision and irrigation with normal saline. (B) The ruptured cystic
mass due to post-resection manipulation.

Figure 3

Histopathological examination
illustrating benign breast ducts lined by bland epithelial cells
(yellow arrows) surrounding a cyst that has an outer fibrous wall
and an inner chitinous layer characteristic of a hydatid cyst
(black arrows) (hematoxylin and eosin staining; magnification,
x40).

Figure 4

Clinical appearance at the 3-week
post-operative follow-up.
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Copy and paste a formatted citation
Spandidos Publications style
Pshtiwan LR, Salih AM, Abdullah HO, Ali HO, Anwar KA, Abdullah AM, Hassan SH, Ahmed SM, Fattah FH, Ali RM, Ali RM, et al: Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature. World Acad Sci J 7: 112, 2025.
APA
Pshtiwan, L.R., Salih, A.M., Abdullah, H.O., Ali, H.O., Anwar, K.A., Abdullah, A.M. ... Hussein, B.O. (2025). Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature. World Academy of Sciences Journal, 7, 112. https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2025.400
MLA
Pshtiwan, L. R., Salih, A. M., Abdullah, H. O., Ali, H. O., Anwar, K. A., Abdullah, A. M., Hassan, S. H., Ahmed, S. M., Fattah, F. H., Ali, R. M., Latif, S., Hussein, B. O."Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature". World Academy of Sciences Journal 7.6 (2025): 112.
Chicago
Pshtiwan, L. R., Salih, A. M., Abdullah, H. O., Ali, H. O., Anwar, K. A., Abdullah, A. M., Hassan, S. H., Ahmed, S. M., Fattah, F. H., Ali, R. M., Latif, S., Hussein, B. O."Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature". World Academy of Sciences Journal 7, no. 6 (2025): 112. https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2025.400
Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Pshtiwan LR, Salih AM, Abdullah HO, Ali HO, Anwar KA, Abdullah AM, Hassan SH, Ahmed SM, Fattah FH, Ali RM, Ali RM, et al: Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature. World Acad Sci J 7: 112, 2025.
APA
Pshtiwan, L.R., Salih, A.M., Abdullah, H.O., Ali, H.O., Anwar, K.A., Abdullah, A.M. ... Hussein, B.O. (2025). Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature. World Academy of Sciences Journal, 7, 112. https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2025.400
MLA
Pshtiwan, L. R., Salih, A. M., Abdullah, H. O., Ali, H. O., Anwar, K. A., Abdullah, A. M., Hassan, S. H., Ahmed, S. M., Fattah, F. H., Ali, R. M., Latif, S., Hussein, B. O."Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature". World Academy of Sciences Journal 7.6 (2025): 112.
Chicago
Pshtiwan, L. R., Salih, A. M., Abdullah, H. O., Ali, H. O., Anwar, K. A., Abdullah, A. M., Hassan, S. H., Ahmed, S. M., Fattah, F. H., Ali, R. M., Latif, S., Hussein, B. O."Primary hydatid cyst of the breast: A case report and mini‑review of the literature". World Academy of Sciences Journal 7, no. 6 (2025): 112. https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2025.400
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