Role of Non-Albicans Candida and Candida Albicans in Oral Squamous Cell Cancer Patients.

Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of Candida species in the saliva of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and its effect on the mortality rate.

Materials And Methods: One hundred patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma undergoing protocol treatment at Helsinki University Hospital were recruited into the study from March 2011 through 2014. For comparison, 75 age-matched controls with no current or previously treated oral cancer were recruited. Paraffin-stimulated whole saliva samples were collected and cultivated on CHROMagar Candida medium (CHROMagar, Paris, France) to establish possible Candida growth. The API ID 32C yeast identification kit (bioMérieux, Lyon, France) and Bichro-Dubli Fumouze latex agglutination test (Fumouze Diagnostics, Levallois-Perret, France) were used for further identification of different Candida species. Patients' medical records were studied for information on their health habits and general health status, as well as tumor-related data. The patients' status regarding being alive and cancer free was checked at a follow-up point in December 2017. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulation were carried out, and the P value was set at .05.

Results: Candida species were detected in 74% of the oral cancer patients' samples, with C. albicans being the most common species (84%). Other species identified were C. dubliniensis (8%), C. tropicalis (4%), C. glabrata (3%), C. parapsilosis (3%), C. sake (3%), C. krusei (1%), and C. guilliermondii (1%). After the follow-up period, 63% of the patients were alive and 86% of them were cancer free. Harboring Candida species in the saliva was not associated with any increase in the mortality rate.

Conclusions: C. albicans was common in the oral cavity of the oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. However, in this patient population, we did not observe a statistically significant effect of the yeast on the mortality rate.