Invasive fungal infections in hematology: epidemiology and risk factors

Recent Italian and International epidemiological data show that invasive fungal infections (IFI), particularly aspergillosis, are still a crucial issue for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. However, in the last years the epidemiology is changing, and in order to determine the real risk of a patient and in order to improve preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures, it’s important to identify all the factors (e.g. age, performance status, prophylaxis) that play a role in the development of IFI. Immunogenetics may potentially contribute to improve diagnosis providing new therapeutic tools, but results are limited by sample size and absence of thorough functional characterization moreover lack of replication limits translation of data to the clinical practice. Regarding candidemia an Italian study showed that the overall incidence remained unchanged between 2008 and 2010 but with an increase in the number of C. albicans aand C. glabrata infections.