Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a highly lethal helminthic disease in humans, caused by the larval form of the parasitic tapeworm E. multilocularis.
Guided by the Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) system of liver cancer, the European Network for Concerted Surveillance of Alveolar Echinococcosis and the World Health Organization Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis, a clinical classification system has been proposed.