Predominance of non-Candida albicansspecies oral colonisation among patients on anticancer therapy: findings from a cross-sectional study in Tanzania

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the oral carriage prevalence ofCandidaspecies and identify factors associated with the carriage ofCandidaspecies among patients with cancer on treatment.DesignA hospital-based cross-sectional study.SettingThe study was conducted at a tertiary-level cancer hospital Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.ParticipantsWe enrolled 196 participants who consented to join the study. Oral swabs were collected from all participants and inoculated onto Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with 50 mg/mL gentamicin and 50 mg/mL chloramphenicol, and chromogenic agar for phenotypic identification ofCandidaspecies.Primary outcomeThe study reported the high prevalence of oral carriage ofCandidaspecies among patients with cancer on treatment at the tertiary-level cancer hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.ResultsA total of 196 participants were enrolled in the study. The overall oral carriage ofCandidaspecies was 37.8% (74/196). The prevalence was higher among patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy (44.4%) than those in monotherapy (13.3% chemotherapy, 20% radiotherapy).Candida kruseiwas the most common isolated species, 48.6% (36/74). Head and neck (adjusted OR (aOR) 15.09, 95% CI 3.05 to 74.59, p=0.00), gastrointestinal (aOR 14.14, 95% CI 2.25 to 88.63, p=0.00) malignancies and diabetes (aOR 3.18, 95% CI 1.03 to 9.77, p=0.04) were factors independently associated with oral carriage ofCandidaspecies.ConclusionThe oral carriage ofCandidaspecies among patients with cancer receiving treatment at ORCI is high, mainly due toC. kruseispecies. This is alarming sinceC. kruseihas intrinsic resistance to fluconazole, a common antifungal agent used to manage adult fungal infections. Therefore, efforts should be put into conducting regular check-ups for such opportunistic pathogens as they can lead to subsequent infections. Furthermore, studies conducted to determine the antifungal profile of the causative agents are warranted since different causative agents might have different profiles.