The ability of leukocytes from subjects with various neoplasms to ingest and kill the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans was tested. Although their ability to ingest C. albicans was unimpaired, neutrophils from patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease and acute leukemia and from patients receiving chemotherapy for metastatic cancer frequently manifested impaired candidacidal activity. In some instances, functionally deficient neutrophils were found to have low levels of myeloperoxidase and lysozyme activity, possibly reflecting a generalized decrease in the lysosomal enzyme content of these cells. Previous studies have suggested that neutrophils play a prominent role in normal resistance to systemic C. albicans infection. Leukopenia, impaired leukocyte mobilization, and intrinsically deficient neutrophil candidacidal activity may combine to place certain cancer patients at high risk of developing systemic candidiasis.
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Lehrer et al. (1971) studied this question.