Is Alveolar Hydatid Disease of the Liver Incurable?

The etiologic agent of alveolar hydatid disease is Echinococcus multilocularis. Infestation of the liver by the larvae of this Cestode results in an infiltrative mass that behaves biologically very much like a malignant tumor. From 1955 to 1978, 13 patients with alveolar hydatid disease of the liver were investigated, operated and followed at the University Medical Center of Lausanne, Switzerland. Due to the extension of the lesions, six patients had exploratory laparotomy with biopsy only; the other seven were submitted to hepatic resection. Follow-up demonstrated that the disease progresses slowly and that a resection, even if incomplete, can afford long-lasting relief. However the present data suggest that surgical cure of alveolar hydatid disease must be very rare.