Publication details
Oportunní infekce mozku u pacientů po komplexní terapii nádorového onemocnění
| Title in English | Opportunistic Infections in Patients after Complex Therapy of Cancer |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Klinická onkologie |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Neurology, neurosurgery, neurosciences |
| Keywords | opportunistic infections; cerebral toxoplasmosis; neoplasms; therapeutics |
| Description | An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens, such as Toxoplasma gondii, that usually are not pathogenic in a healthy host but may cause an infection in immunocompromised patients. Although the most frequent cause of an opportunistic infection is immunodefi ciency due to HIV infection, the immunodefi ciency induced by anticancer treatment cannot be ignored. A 56-year old female patient after a comprehensive treatment of breast cancer underwent a stereotactic biopsy of MR-verifi ed multiple brain lesions suspected to be of metastatic aetiology. The histology report unexpectedly concluded that the lesion was brain toxoplasmosis confi rmed by detection of IgM specifi c antibody in cerebrospinal fl uid. Immunology examination has proven a defi cit of cell-mediated immunity. The symptoms (cephalea, cerebellar symptomatology with vertigo) and MR fi ndings disappeared following 6-month treatment with a combination of pyrimethamin, sulfadiazin and leucovorin. Since neoplastic duplicities and brain lesions of non-neoplastic aetiology are found in about 11% of oncology patients, histological verifi cation of aetiology of intracranial lesions is essential for targeted therapy of these patients. Our case of brain toxoplasmosis documents the role of opportunistic infections in diff erential diagnosis of brain lesions in patients who underwent anticancer treatment. |