Identification of Candida Species Isolated from Oral Candidiasis in Cancer Patients using PCR-RFLP in Sulaimani, Iraq

Abstract

Candida species causes oral candidiasis in immunosuppressed individuals such as cancer patients. This study aimed to determine the rate of candida infections in cancer patients (n= 150) and to identify different species of candida using Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction fragment polymerase length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and to find the effect of candidiasis on the PH of the saliva in cancer patients (n=50) and controls (n=50) (Healthy individuals). The rate of candidiasis was different in patients with different types of cancer. A higher percentage of oral Candidiasis was observed in carcinoma (54 %), followed by leukemia patients (17.3 %), sarcoma type (15.3%), and lymphoma (13.33%). The highest prevalence of candidiasis was found in the old age group, 40-60years Candida albicans was the most common recorded species,70% in comparison to non-albicans species, followed by other species including: Candida glabrata (12%), Candida kefyr (6.7%), Candida tropicalis (5.3%), Candida krusei (3.3%), and Candida dubliniensis (2.7 %). The pH of saliva was more acidic in cancer patients who have candidiasis in comparison to control individuals (P-value 0.001). In conclusion, this study found that the rate of candidiasis is high among cancer patients and Candida albican is the most common species recorded in cancer patients.