{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T22:55:28Z","timestamp":1792796128780,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]],"date-time":"2025-06-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750032000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Airway obstruction is a ventilatory dysfunction caused by internal and external diseases of the respiratory tract, which is usually considered a life-threatening clinical emergency. Traditionally, airway obstruction can be caused by respiratory tumors, trauma, and foreign bodies, among which tumors are the most common. Consequently, physicians may prioritize tumor-related diagnoses, potentially leading to the misdiagnosis of rare non-neoplastic conditions. Here, we report a case of a 61-year-old adult traveler who initially presented with mild dyspnea and a bronchial space-occupying lesion on a CT scan, raising suspicion of an airway tumor. However, further examination confirmed the diagnosis of a living leech infestation in the bronchus, resulting from a trip to Laos. This case highlights the importance of thorough history-taking and critical thinking in clinical diagnosis, urging physicians to avoid overreliance on intuition or experience alone.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2025.1572523","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]],"date-time":"2025-06-16T01:24:04Z","timestamp":1750037044000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Airway leech infestation masquerading as a tumor: a rare case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Pengyu","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xianmeng","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wanling","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunchao","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangxiu","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.1542\/pir.36-2-62","article-title":"Upper airway obstruction","volume":"36","author":"Virbalas","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pediatr Rev"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1164\/rccm.200210-1181SO","article-title":"Central airway obstruction","volume":"169","author":"Ernst","year":"2004","journal-title":"Am J Respir Crit Care Med"},{"key":"B3","article-title":"Leech therapeutic applications","volume":"75","author":"Abdualkader","year":"2013","journal-title":"Indian J Pharm Sci"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2011.05.014","article-title":"Keeping leeches at bay: field evaluation of plant-derived extracts against terrestrial blood-sucking leeches (Haemadipsidae) in Lao PDR","volume":"119","author":"Vongsombath","year":"2011","journal-title":"Acta tropica"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4067\/s0716-10182005000100004","article-title":"Sanguijuelas, par\u00e1sitos presentes ayer y hoy [Leeches, today and yesterday present parasites","volume":"22","author":"Vera","year":"2005","journal-title":"Rev Chil infectologia"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jtm\/taac089","article-title":"An unusual cause of hemoptysis and hoarseness due to live leech in the glottis: case report","volume":"31","author":"Zou","year":"2024","journal-title":"J travel Med"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/2016\/2372686","article-title":"Bronchial leech infestation in a 15-year-old female","volume":"2016","author":"Moslehi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Case Rep Pediatr"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Oncology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fonc.2025.1572523\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]],"date-time":"2025-06-16T01:24:05Z","timestamp":1750037045000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fonc.2025.1572523\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]]},"references-count":7,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fonc.2025.1572523"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fonc.2025.1572523","relation":{},"ISSN":["2234-943X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2234-943X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]]},"article-number":"1572523"}}