Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis mimicking malignancy on MRI: A rare clinical entity in an immunocompetent adult
Mohamed Bouallou, Issam Berrajaa, Achraf Amine Sbai, Drissia Benfadil, Azeddine Lachkar · 2026
Read Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis mimicking malignancy on MRI: A rare clinical entity in an immunocompetent adult by Mohamed Bouallou, Issam Berrajaa, Achraf Amine Sbai, Drissia Benfadil, Azeddine Lachkar (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13254962.txt.
Description
Mohamed Bouallou and colleagues describe a 2026 case in which tuberculosis of the nasopharynx looked like cancer on imaging. Their patient was a healthy 41-year-old woman with long-standing headaches on one side and hearing loss. Her MRI showed a large growth spreading from the back wall of the nasopharynx into nearby deep spaces.
A biopsy showed dead, cheese-like tissue inside inflamed granulomas, a pattern typical of tuberculosis. Genetic testing then confirmed infection with the tuberculosis bacterium. Standard anti-tuberculosis drug treatment cleared both her symptoms and the scan findings completely. The authors argue that this rare infection belongs on the list of possibilities for aggressive-looking nasopharyngeal masses, even in people with healthy immune systems.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mohamed Bouallou, Issam Berrajaa, Achraf Amine Sbai, Drissia Benfadil, Azeddine Lachkar |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 20 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |