ReviewInfection2026
Syphilis mimicking a metastatic tumour: a case report and review of the literature.
Review in Infection, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeSyphilis is an infectious disease with a wide range of clinical manifestations. Diagnosis is often challenging as the symptoms of syphilis can mimic malignant or autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a patient with tertiary syphilis mimicking a metastatic testicular tumour.
methodsSyphilis was diagnosed by serological testing and immunohistochemistry of tissue biopsies using specific antibodies. Additionally, a comprehensive literature review was conducted using a PubMed database search to identify previously reported cases and relevant studies.
resultsA 57-year-old male patient developed fever, night sweats and weight loss for three months after he had been treated with glucocorticoids for lumbar disc herniation. At first presentation, physical examination was unremarkable except for cervical lymphadenopathy. FDG-PET revealed hepatic and testicular lesions suspicious for malignancy. Biopsy of the hepatic lesion was inconclusive and showed features of pseudotumourous inflammation. The orchiectomy specimen demonstrated a large inflammatory pseudotumour composed of mixed lymphoplasmacytic and granulocytic infiltrates, with no evidence of neoplasia. Serological testing yielded elevated titers of Treponema pallidum antibodies and immunohistochemistry detected high numbers of spirochaetes in the biopsies. Antibiotic treatment with ceftriaxone and benzylpenicillin led to relief of symptoms and a decline of antibody titers. Literature review identified several cases of syphilis masquerading as malignant disease, whereas a potential reactivation of syphilis under immunosuppressive therapy remains rare.
conclusionThis case highlights tertiary syphilis as a rare but important differential diagnosis of pseudotumorous lesions mimicking metastatic malignancy, particularly in the presence of atypical histopathology. Immunosuppression may have contributed to clinical manifestation.
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