Pronostic des infections en oncohématologie

Infectious complications are more frequent and serious in cancer patients than in patients without cancer. Infections are a leading cause of death in these patients. Recent advances in the treatment of solid tumors or hematological malignancies affect the incidence and the type of opportunistic infections. Over the last 20 years, there has been a shift to more dose intensive chemotherapeutic treatments, while the number of patients treated with advanced stages of disease has also increased. In recent years, new strategies of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and new agents such as the purine analogues and monoclonal antibodies have been introduced into hematological practice. The occurrence of an infectious complication in a cancer patient is often a diagnostic and a therapeutic emergency. The recent availability of new antifungal and antiviral treatments should improve the prognosis of until then often fatal infectious diseases. Above all, preventive strategies should allow to reduce the incidence of many infectious complications in these patients. Considering the complexity in diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in patients with malignancies, a multidisciplinary and specialized approach is mandatory.