Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Infections is one of the important causes of cancer, causing approximately one in five malignancies worldwide. Three of the main infectious agents causing malignancies are The three main examples are infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori leading to an elevated risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric lymphoma, infection with particular types of human papilloma virus (HPV) leading to cervical cancer, tonsillar carcinoma and some cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and chronic hepatitis B and C infections leading to hepatocellular carcinoma. Hence; we evaluated the Candida species in OSCC patients. Materials & Methods: Histopathologically proven OSCC patients were included in the present study. Total no. of patients is 30 in which (25 males and 5 females) of clinically (Stages III and IV) . Age, systemic conditions, site of the lesion, and alcohol consumption were not taken into consideration due to the shortage of time while collecting the samples; 22 were well differentiated OSCC patients, 7 were moderately differentiated OSCC patients, and 1 was a poorly differentiated OSCC patient. The present study was performed to isolate the presence and quantification of different Candida species from the individuals of a random age group. The growth appeared in 48 h as cream/white‑colored, smooth, and pasty colonies. Gram staining was performed to confirm the growth of yeast. Once the colonies were confirmed, a colony count was done by a Digital Colony Counter and expressed as colony‑forming unit (CFU)/mL of saliva. Further identification and speciation were done by the germ tube test, sugar assimilation test, corn meal agar morphology, and other standard tests. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical software. The values of these parameters were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and the levels of significance were determined by employing the Student’s t test. Results: The mean CFU/mL of saliva for healthy group was 1420.5 while for the squamous cell carcinoma group was 7428.8. Statistically significant results were obtained while comparing the mean CFU/mL of saliva for the presence of candida species. Conclusion: Significant increase in candidal carriage in OSCC patients is seen. Salivary parameters offer the scope for detailed future research on their applications in the screening, diagnosis, and management of cancer.
Key Words: Candida, Oral squamous cell carcinoma

Corresponding Author:  Dr. Rajesh K. Yadav, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, T.S.M.M.C. &H. Amausi,  Luknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

This article may be cited as: Yadav RK, Tripathi P, Sharma HB. Assessment of candida species in patients with oral malignancies J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2016;4(5):89-91.