Changes in the incidence of candidemia and related mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies in the last ten years. A SEIFEM 2015-B report

In this retrospective, multicenter study, we analyzed the incidence and mortality of candidemia among patients who were either undergoing chemotherapy because of various hematologic malignancies or HSCT (autologous or allogeneic). The results were compared with those observed in our two previous studies in the same categories of patients to verify any epidemiological changes,In conclusion, the present study shows that candidemia is currently a less relevant problem than it was in the past in patients with hematologic malignancies, specifically in those with AML. Candidemia is still a concern in patients with lymphoproliferative malignancies, to whom antifungal prophylaxis is usually not given, in part because the introduction of new immune-modulating drugs (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors) might increase the incidence of fungal infections, including candidemia.