Clinical and cytological aspects of fungal micro biota of the oral mucosa in the patients with oral carcinoma, during and before radiotherapy

The authors studied clinically lesions of the oral mucosa as well as control areas in patients with oral cancer, before and during radiotherapy, utilizing exfoliative cytology (Papanicolaou and PAS) and smears stained by Gram. A significant increase of yeasts during treatment was observed with predominance of filamentous forms as well as cytologic alterations. Clinically, well defined areas of candidosis of atrophic or pseudo membranous type were observed beside areas of mucositis. A great majority of the alterations were represented by white and red lesions, difficulting a clinical diagnosis. Symptomatology was negative before treatment and during treatment patients revealed a high number of complaints including burning sensation xerostomia and loss of taste among other symptoms. (author)