Isolation and Identification of Candida Species from the Oral Cavity of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy in Basrah, Iraq

摘要

Candida species are a common normal flora in the human oral cavity , they can cause oral candidiasis especially in the immunocompromised patients like cancer patients. A total of 500 cancer patients and 200 healthy controls were included in this study. Breast cancer was the most prevalence between patients (145 cases) , followed by leukemia (114 cases) . Candida albicans was the most yeast species isolated from the oral cavity of the patients and control persons , followed by C. tropicalis and C. glabrata along with other non- Candida albicans Candida (NCAC).All the yeast isolates were identified by different phenotypic methods including germ tube and chlamydospores production, growing on chromogenic media and assimilation test.