Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer
BACKGROUND: Oropharyngeal candidiasis is a common infection in patient receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Accurate and rapid identification of candida species is very important in clinical laboratory, because the incidence of candidiasis continues to rise after radiotherapy. The genus...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Kerman University of Medical Sciences
2012-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://johoe.kmu.ac.ir/index.php/johoe/article/view/10 |
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| author | Maryam Rad Seyyed Amin Ayatollahi Mousavi Shahla Kakoei Maryam Bahador Roya Borna Nazila Lashkarizadeh |
| author_facet | Maryam Rad Seyyed Amin Ayatollahi Mousavi Shahla Kakoei Maryam Bahador Roya Borna Nazila Lashkarizadeh |
| author_sort | Maryam Rad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BACKGROUND: Oropharyngeal candidiasis is a common infection in patient receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Accurate and rapid identification of candida species is very important in clinical laboratory, because the incidence of candidiasis continues to rise after radiotherapy. The genus Candida has about 154 species that show different level of resistance to antifungal drugs and have high degree of phenotypic similarity. The aim of this study was to investigate oral yeast colonization and infection and resistance to antifungal drugs in these patients.
METHODS: Thirty patients receiving a 6-week course of radiation therapy for treatment of head and neck cancer at the Oncology Unit in Shafa Hospital, in 2008, were enrolled in the study. Specimens from patients were cultured weekly for Candida. All isolates were plated on CHROM agar and RPMI-based medium. They were subcultured and submitted for antifungal susceptibility testing (nystatin, fluconazole, clotrimazole and ketoconazole) and molecular typing.
RESULTS: Infection (clinical and microbiological evidence) occurred in 50% of the patients and Candida colonization (only microbiological evidence) occurred in 70% of subjects in the first week. Candida albicans alone was isolated in 94.9% of patient visits with positive cultures. Candida tropicalis was isolated from 5.1% of patient visits with positive cultures. All isolates were susceptible to nystatin, but did not respond to the other antifungal drugs
CONCLUSIONS: The irradiation-induced changes of the intraoral environment such as xerostomia lead to increased intraoral colonization by Candida species. All yeast isolates were susceptible to nystatin. Thus prophylactic therapy with nystatin should be considered for these patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:28:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5b2e5f7185043c3a43cc3dcf2224431 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2322-1372 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:28:35Z |
| publishDate | 2012-07-01 |
| publisher | Kerman University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5b2e5f7185043c3a43cc3dcf22244312022-12-22T03:04:33ZengKerman University of Medical SciencesJournal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology2322-13722012-07-01113640913Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancerMaryam Rad0Seyyed Amin Ayatollahi Mousavi1Shahla Kakoei2Maryam Bahador3Roya Borna4Nazila Lashkarizadeh5Specialist of Oral Medicine, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranAssociate Professor, Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranAssistant Professor, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranRadiotherapy, Oncology Unit, Shafa Hospital, Kerman, IranDentist, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranDentist, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranBACKGROUND: Oropharyngeal candidiasis is a common infection in patient receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Accurate and rapid identification of candida species is very important in clinical laboratory, because the incidence of candidiasis continues to rise after radiotherapy. The genus Candida has about 154 species that show different level of resistance to antifungal drugs and have high degree of phenotypic similarity. The aim of this study was to investigate oral yeast colonization and infection and resistance to antifungal drugs in these patients. METHODS: Thirty patients receiving a 6-week course of radiation therapy for treatment of head and neck cancer at the Oncology Unit in Shafa Hospital, in 2008, were enrolled in the study. Specimens from patients were cultured weekly for Candida. All isolates were plated on CHROM agar and RPMI-based medium. They were subcultured and submitted for antifungal susceptibility testing (nystatin, fluconazole, clotrimazole and ketoconazole) and molecular typing. RESULTS: Infection (clinical and microbiological evidence) occurred in 50% of the patients and Candida colonization (only microbiological evidence) occurred in 70% of subjects in the first week. Candida albicans alone was isolated in 94.9% of patient visits with positive cultures. Candida tropicalis was isolated from 5.1% of patient visits with positive cultures. All isolates were susceptible to nystatin, but did not respond to the other antifungal drugs CONCLUSIONS: The irradiation-induced changes of the intraoral environment such as xerostomia lead to increased intraoral colonization by Candida species. All yeast isolates were susceptible to nystatin. Thus prophylactic therapy with nystatin should be considered for these patients.http://johoe.kmu.ac.ir/index.php/johoe/article/view/10Oropharyngeal candidiasis, radiation, colonization, antifungal drugs, cancer |
| spellingShingle | Maryam Rad Seyyed Amin Ayatollahi Mousavi Shahla Kakoei Maryam Bahador Roya Borna Nazila Lashkarizadeh Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology Oropharyngeal candidiasis, radiation, colonization, antifungal drugs, cancer |
| title | Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| title_full | Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| title_fullStr | Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| title_short | Oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| title_sort | oropharyngeal candidiasis and resistance to antifungal drugs in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer |
| topic | Oropharyngeal candidiasis, radiation, colonization, antifungal drugs, cancer |
| url | http://johoe.kmu.ac.ir/index.php/johoe/article/view/10 |
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