Tuberculosis of the Spine in a Patient With Kidney Cancer

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a widespread, airborne infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. This infection is often misdiagnosed, particularly in the case of spinal tuberculosis which can present atypically. Although rare, tuberculosis can mimic bone tumors or metastatic lesions in the spine. In patients with immunosuppression who have cancer and show signs of lymph node involvement and bone lesions, it is important to explore other potential causes as part of the diagnosis process. Here, we present a case of renal cell carcinoma in which a lytic lesion in the spinal cord was initially misdiagnosed as a metastatic lesion due to the presence of cancer. Skeletal tuberculosis is a rare condition, and it is crucial to maintain a high level of suspicion for a proper diagnosis.

Keywords: kidney cancer; lesions; m. tuberculosis; metastasis; spine tuberculosis.

Figure 1. Thorax CT scans.

A) Pre-treatment imaging shows a Th12 spinal lesion (yellow arrows) and paraspinal fluid collection (red arrows) and B) imaging nine months after treatment indicates a decrease in the spinal lesion (yellow arrows) and paraspinal fluid collection (red arrows) CT: Computed tomography