The following is a summary of “Biofilm formation and increased mortality among cancer patients with candidemia in a Peruvian reference center,” published in the October 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Villanueva-Cotrina et al.
Individuals with cancer who were infected with Candida, a type of fungus, experienced higher mortality rates due to its ability to form biofilms, which lessened the effectiveness of antifungal treatments.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the relationship between biofilm formation and mortality in individuals with cancer diagnosed with candidemia.
They examined individuals with cancer infected with candidemia treated at Peru’s oncology center from 2015 to 2017. Patients were monitored for 30 days, and data on biofilm production (XTT reduction), demographics, clinical factors, and microbiological factors were collected. Survival analysis and Cox regression (hazard ratio (HR)) were used to assess the association between biofilm production and mortality (P < 0.05).
The results showed that among 140 patients with candidemia, untreated patients infected with non-biofilm-forming strains had lower mortality (25.0%) compared to those with low/medium (66.7%) and high-level (82.3%) biofilm-forming strains (P = 0.049). In treated patients, high-level biofilm formation was associated with increased mortality (HR, 3.92; 95% CI: 1.12-14.60, P = 0.022), even after adjusting for age, comorbidities, and hospital emergency admission (HR, 6.59; CI: 1.87-23.24, P = 0.003).
They concluded the biofilm formation in Candida infections was related to a high mortality rate in patients with cancer.
Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-10044-5
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