Oral candidosis in patients with advanced cancer

The objectives of the study were to determine the epidemiology, aetiology, clinical features and microbiological aspects of oral candidosis in a cohort of cancer patients receiving specialist palliative care. One hundred and twenty patients participated in the study. Seventy-nine (66%) of the patients had microbiological evidence of oral yeast carriage, whilst 36 (30%) of the patients had combined clinical and microbiological evidence of oral candidosis. Oral candidosis was associated with a poor performance status, the presence of xerostomia, and the presence of dentures; oral candidosis was not associated with the use of oral/parenteral antibiotics, or the use of oral/parenteral corticosteroids. Candida albicans was the predominant organism isolated from the oral swabs of patients with oral candidosis. However, non-C. albicans species were the predominant organism in 25% cases, and a contributing organism in a further 19% cases.