Thrush in Malignant Neoplastic Disease

Thrush is most frequently found in infants or debilitated patients with serious diseases such as a malignant neoplasm. Candida albicans is the causative organism in most cases, although C. tropicalis,¹C. pseudotropicalis,²C. krusei,³C. parapsilosis,⁴and C. guilliermondi,⁵have all been reported as pathogenic agents for man. The Candida are common saprophytes of the gastrointestinal tract and may assume a pathogenic role under certain circumstances. Candida infections may be increasing in frequency, and antibiotic and adrenal corticosteroid therapy have been implicated as a cause of this increase by many authors.⁶⁻⁸ Brown and Hazen's isolation of nystatin from Streptomyces noursei⁹has given impetus to the study of Candida infections. This antibiotic is effective against Candida in vitro,¹⁰and clinical reports are generally favorable. Little is known of the natural history of untreated thrush or of the efficacy of simple cleansing of the