Current diagnosis and management of toxoplasmosis in cancer patients

Toxoplasmosis should be considered as a potential pathogen in cancer patients who have clinical syndromes, especially lymphadenopathy, for which the cause is not clear. Patients with reticuloendothelial malignancies or solid cancers treated with systemic chemotherapy or with progressive disease appear to be at particular risk for life-threatening toxoplasmosis. There has also been an explosion in the number of cases of toxoplasmic encephalitis in patients infected with HIV. Diagnosis rests on demonstration of trophozoites in tissue or body fluids, demonstration of characteristic serologic test results, and, in cases of lymphadenopathy, characteristic histologic features.