Assessment of the Risk for Invasive Fungal Infection Among Oncology Patients

The prevalence of patients living with cancer is rising (1) particularly as the spectrum and sophistication of available anticancer treatment strategies expands. Malignant disease and treatments thereof have profound negative effects upon the ability of the system of human host defenses to successfully engage and deflect a plethora of opportunistic pathogens met in the course of daily living. Superficial and invasive fungal infections have assumed a much more prominent role in the supportive care planning for patients undergoing intensive treatment for malignant disease.