Isolation and Identification of Candida Species from the Oral Cavity of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy in Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

Candida species are a common normal flora in the human oral cavity , they can cause oral candidiasis especially in the immunocompromised  patients like cancer patients. A total of 500 cancer patients and 200 healthy controls were included in this study. Breast cancer was the most prevalence between patients (145 cases) , followed  by leukemia (114 cases) . Candida albicans was  the most yeast species isolated  from the oral cavity  of the patients  and control persons ,  followed by  C. tropicalis and C. glabrata along with other  non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC).All the yeast isolates were identified by different phenotypic methods including germ tube and chlamydospores production, growing on chromogenic media and  assimilation  test.

Keywords: Yeast, oral cavity, cancer patients, Candida species