PURPOSE: The purpose of this article was to report an unusual presentation
of abdominal actinomycosis masquerading as a tumor. METHODS: The patient wa
s a 54-year-old male who presented with vague abdominal discomfort and a pa
lpable left lower quadrant mass defined on CT scan. Multiple intraoperative
core biopsies were nondiagnostic, and he underwent en bloc resection of th
e mass and adjacent organs for a presumed tumor. RESULTS: Examination of ti
ssue from deep within the excised specimen revealed sulfur granules diagnos
tic for actinomycosis. CONCLUSION: Abdominal actinomycosis is an extremely
rare infection that can mimic multiple disease processes and requires accur
ate diagnosis for successful therapy. This novel presentation and a review
of the literature are reported.