OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS IN ONCOLOGIC PATIENTS

A combination of disease related and iatrogenic Factors predispose onc ologic patients to opportunistic infections. Aggressive treatments inc luding high-dose chemotherapeutic regimens or bone marrow transplantat ion produce a patient population that is especially susceptible to inf ections, and a shift of the usual spectrum of pathogens, Patterns of o ccurrence of infections caused by opportunistic bacteria, fungi, virus es, and rarely protozoa, as well as therapeutic anal prophylactic stra tegies are discussed.