title: Candida spp. in oral cancer and oral precancerous lesions.
abstract: To assess the presence of Candida spp. in lesions of the oral cavity in a sample of patients with precancer or cancer of the mouth and evaluate the limitations and advantages of microbiological and histological methods, 103 subjects with precancerous or cancerous lesions and not treated were observed between 2007 and 2009. The presence of Candida in the lesions was analyzed by microbiological and histological methods. Cohen's k statistic was used to assess the agreement between culture method and staining techniques. Forty-eight (47%) patients had cancer and 55 (53%) patients had precancerous lesions. Candida spp. were isolated from 31 (30%) patients with cancerous lesions and 33 (32%) with precancerous lesions. C. albicans was the most frequent species isolated in the lesions. The k value showed a fair overall agreement for comparisons between culture method and PAS (0.2825) or GMS (0.3112). This study supports the frequent presence of Candida spp. in cancer and precancerous lesions of the oral cavity. Both microbiological investigations and histological techniques were reliable for detection of Candida spp. It would be desirable for the two techniques to be considered complementary in the detection of yeast infections in these types of lesions.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Department of Studies of Institutions and Territorial Systems, University �Parthenope", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gall
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colella
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Onofrio
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rossiello
authors.forename: Italo Francesco
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Angelillo
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liguori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000382:microbiology*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000382:microbiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult