Despite new, enhanced imaging techniques and histology methods, differential diagnosis of nodular liver lesions is still not 100 percent perfect – especially in case of rare diseases, like alveolar echinococcosis. The parasite Echinococcus multilocularis may generate difficult to diagnose, tumor-like focal lesions in the liver – with poor prognosis in advanced cases, comparable with primary or secondary liver ma- lignancies. Three cases of alveolar echinococcosis are demonstrated in this paper, underlining, that only early diagnosis and adequate therapy may result in complete cure with long-term survival. Keywords: albendazol, alveolar echinococcosis, Echinococcus, liver tumor

Epidemics have decimated the human population for thousands of years, even endangering their survival in some cases. The history of vaccinations began at the end of 18th century. Thereafter, with the development of bacteriology and immunology, the laboratory production of vaccines became possible using the inactivation and attenuation of viruses and bacteria. Vaccination programs were developed in different countries using different schedules. Later, vaccines using cell cultures and viral vectors were also created. With the advent of genetics, the use of molecular engineering and markers enabled the production of specific vaccines, which were used successfully in the prevention of some digestive infectious diseases such as cholera, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B. In spite of all the efforts, however, the science of vaccinology has yet to come up with vaccines for some diseases of great importance to public health: Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis C virus and Clostridioides difficile infection.

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is one of the tumors with the highest mortality. Its’ median five year survival is only 7-8%. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is often advanced upon diagnosis, thus its early detection is an unmet medical need. Microbiome dysbiosis, termed oncobiosis can often be revealed in malignancies, likewise in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, where the oral, duodenal, ductal, and fecal microbiome converts to dysbiotic. Colonization by Helicobacter pylori and Malassezia, among others in the dysbiotic pancreas can be frequently observed. The pancreatic adenocarcinoma oncobiomes differ in long and short-term survivors. Survival is extended in pancreatic adenocarcinoma animal models when long-survivor oncobiomes were transplanted. In pancreatic adenocarcinoma, the inflammation plays an important role in carcinogenesis. Pancreatic oncobiome is shown to modulate the inflammatory cascades behind cancerization. This review is a brief summary of the studies about the oncobiotic processes in the pathogenesis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Changes in the metabolome during the neoplastic process are also mentioned along with some important types of bacterial metabolites (e.g. short chain fatty acids, secondary bile acids, polyamines, indole-derivatives). More diagnostically and therapeutically relevant metabolites and metabolic pathways are to be revealed in the near future.