Does Chemo Kill Yeast & Fungus?

Chemotherapy is used to treat cancer. It is a prolonged treatment using different chemicals intended to kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading. It can produce difficult side effects, such as hair loss, sickness and general lack of well-being. Although chemotherapy can be effective in treating cancer, it typically has an adverse effect on the immune system, leaving the patient susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections.

Candida Yeasts

• Many people are familiar with yeast infections caused by the Candida albicans yeast. Candida commonly causes oral or genital thrush infections, but is linked to a number of other conditions. Candida yeasts exist in the gastrointestinal tracts of most people, without causing symptoms. However, an over-proliferation of yeasts can lead to systemic infection. Candida overgrowth occurs typically after a course of antibiotic treatment. Candida infection also frequently affects those whose immune system is compromised.

Immune-Suppression

• There are many varieties of fungal yeasts, and more than 80 species of Candida yeasts have been identified by scientists. Not all of these yeasts are pathogenic (i.e., producing disease); there are, however, eight species of Candida yeast (including C. albicans) that are capable of causing disease. In immune-suppressed patients, candida infections can pose a serious risk to health, since Candida yeasts can invade major organs. Systemic Candida infections (candidiasis) are frequently associated with patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Neutropenia

• Chemotherapy temporarily damages the immune system. It does this by decreasing the number of white blood cells in the body. White blood cells are necessary to fight infection, although not all chemotherapy patients will experience dramatic loss of white blood cells. During treatment, blood samples are measured for white blood cell count, and if the count falls below a certain critical level, the patient is said to be suffering from neutropenia; in other words, they have too few white blood cells to fight infection and are at risk.

Treatment

• Many chemotherapy patients suffer from pathogenic Candida infections, including C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. krusei. Rather than killing yeast and fungus within the body, chemotherapy can actually promote serious candida infection of the major organs. Candida yeasts are usually already present in the host body, so there is little the patient can do to avoid infection. However, candida can be treated with drugs such as nystatin or fluconazole; alternatively, doctors may boost white blood cell production with a course of injections.

Developments

• Candida infection can pose a serious additional health risk to chemotherapy patients, who are already extremely sick with cancer. However, chemotherapy uses a variety of drugs, all of which cause differing reactions. Not all patients experience adverse reactions when undergoing chemotherapy, and not all patients develop neutropenia.