Study Of Oral Health Status And Candidal Colonization Status In Patients Receiving Head And Neck Radiotherapy For Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC)

Objective:To investigate the status of oral health andCandidal colonization in patients of Nasopharyngealcarcinoma(NPC) undergoing radiotherapy and to provide theclinical and microbial data for further study in oralcandidiasis.Methods:The studied population comprised 48 NPC patientsand 42 healthy controls.Oral rinse technique was used todetect the candidal carriage. The isolates were idendifiedusing multiple measures such as gram staining reaction,chlamydospor,pseudohyphal and hyphal production test,CHROMagar Candida test and API 20 C AUX yeastidentification system.ResuIts:Oral response was occured to 30 out of 48 NPCcases during radiotherapy, 12 out of 48 NPC cases (25%)were confirmed to occur radiation-induced mucositis, Oralcandidiasis was diagnosed to 6 out of 48 NPC cases(12.5%),but no case occurred in controls(p=0.028);Carafafo was found in 24 out of 48 NPC cases(50%) and 7 out of 42 of controls(16.7%)(p=0.001, OR=3.000, 95% confidence interval 1.441-6.442); 24 stains of Candida were isolated from the 48 NPC cases , 15 srains of Candida albicans(62.5%) , 2 srains of Candida parapsihsis(8.33%), 2 srains of C. guilliermondii(8.33%), 2 srains of Candida famata(8.33%) and 3 srains of others(12.5%).Conclusion:(1) Radiotherapy can do harm to the oral health status of the NPC patients, and the incidence of oral candidiasis was higher than the health controls;(2) More srains of Candida were isolated from the NPC cases than the health controls;(3) Candida albicans was the major candidal isolate from NPC patients undergoing radiotherapy and health controls.