title: Revisiting the association between candidal infection and carcinoma, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tobacco and alcohol are risk factors associated with cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, but increasingly the role of infection and chronic inflammation is recognized as being significant in cancer development. Bacteria, particularly Helicobacter pylori, and viruses such as members of the human papilloma virus family and hepatitis B and C are strongly implicated as etiological factors in certain cancers. There is less evidence for an association between fungi and cancer, although it has been recognized for many years that white patches on the oral mucosa, which are infected with Candida, have a greater likelihood of undergoing malignant transformation than those that are not infected.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article reviews the association between the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma in potentially malignant oral lesions with chronic candidal infection and describes mechanisms that may be involved in Candida-associated malignant transformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohd Bakri
authors.forename: Haizal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mohd Hussaini
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rachel Holmes
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: David Cannon
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mary Rich