Purpose: The aim of this pharmaco-epidemiological study was to evaluate the prevalence of oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
Methods and materials: Signs and symptoms of OPC were noted for all patients. Antifungal therapeutic management was recorded in OPC patients. Patients receiving local antifungal treatments were monitored until the end of treatment.
Results: Enrolled in the study were 2,042 patients with solid tumor and/or lymphoma treated with chemotherapy and/or another systemic cancer treatment and/or radiotherapy. The overall prevalence of OPC was 9.6% (95% confidence interval, 8.4%-11.0%] in this population. It was most frequent in patients treated with combined chemoradiotherapy (22.0%) or with more than two cytotoxic agents (16.9%). Local antifungal treatments were prescribed in 75.0% of OPC patients as recommended by guidelines. The compliance to treatment was higher in patients receiving once-daily miconazole mucoadhesive buccal tablet (MBT; 88.2%) than in those treated with several daily mouthwashes of amphotericin B (40%) or nystatin (18.8%).
Conclusion: OPC prevalence in treated cancer patients was high. Local treatments were usually prescribed as per guidelines. Compliance to local treatments was better with once-daily drugs.
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