Prevalence of aspergillosis in bronchogenic carcinoma

Bronchoalveolar lavage of 42 patients of bronchogenic carcinoma was studied to find out the prevalence of aspergillosis. Sera of the patients were also analysed for presence of anti-Aspergillus antibodies by Immunodiffusion (ID), Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and dot blot assay (DBA). Aspergillus was isolated in culture from 6 (14.2%) patients of bronchogenic carcinoma. Aspergillus fumigatus was the predominant species isolated. All the strains of Aspergillus were sensitive to itraconazole, ketoconazole and amphotericin B while resistance (33.3%) was found with fluconazole. Anti-aspergillus antibodies were detected equally by ID, ELISA and DBA in 9 (21.4%) cases. The present study revealed prevalence and seroprevalance of Aspergillus in bronchogenic carcinoma to be 14.2% and 21.4% respectively. Consistent reactivity against 18 kDa Aspergillus fumigatus antigen was noted in serologically positive cases. Antibodies against 18 kDa protein antigen in western blotting may be used as a reference marker for diagnosis of aspergillosis in bronchogenic carcinoma. It is also suggested that the simplest serological technique like ID may be performed along with culture for diagnosing Aspergillosis in patients of bronchogenic carcinoma since ID, ELISA and DBA showed similar sensitivity.