Protozoan Infections in Cancer Patients: A Case Series

TL;DR

This paper presents cases of intestinal parasitic infections in cancer patients and reviews related literature to better understand disease progression and treatment.

Contribution

The paper contributes a detailed case series and literature review on protozoan infections in immunosuppressed cancer patients.

Findings

Intestinal amebiasis and giardiasis show increased disease burden in cancer patients.

Protozoan infections in immunosuppressed individuals have prolonged disease timelines.

Case studies highlight the importance of diagnosing and treating these infections in cancer care.

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections can cause significant morbidity and mortality in individuals with cancer. Despite this, they are often self-limiting in healthy individuals. Entamoeba histolytica is an anaerobic parasite that causes amebiasis in infected individuals. Poor sanitary conditions and endemic areas increase the risk of contracting amebiasis. Furthermore, giardiasis is a parasitic infection of the small intestine that is caused by Giardia duodenalis, a flagellated protozoan. In both cases, the disease burden is greater and the timeline is longer among immunosuppressed patients. Due to this, we aimed to more thoroughly characterize disease progression and treatment efficacy of these intestinal parasitic infections in cancer patients by presenting a case of intestinal amebiasis and enterocolitis due to Entamoeba histolytica, as well as two giardiasis cases, while also providing a review of the literature.

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