Local Immunity in Hematological Patients with Oropharyngeal Candidiasis

Aim. To evaluate the incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis (OFC) among oncohematological patients depending on the type of the malignancy and anti-tumor treatment, as well as to assess key cytokine levels in saliva samples. Methods. 430 patients were enrolled in the study, and 85 samples of saliva were collected from patients with OFC (n = 38) and without it. The control group consisted of 19 healthy volunteers. Results. The OFC incidence was 9 % and it did not depend on the immunomorphological type of the malignancy and the type of chemotherapy. Before the anti-tumor treatment, TNF-a, IL-17 and G-CSF levels in saliva samples were elevated in all patients. The TNF-a (p