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Principles and Practice of Cancer Infectious Diseases pp 27–38Cite as

Infections in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies

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Part of the book series: Current Clinical Oncology ((CCO))

Abstract

Hematologic malignancies are a heterogeneous group of diseases with differing clinical manifestations, disease course, response to therapy, and long-term outcome. More intensive therapies are also being extended to older age groups and to patients with significant comorbidities, which were traditionally excluded from such treatment. These intensive treatment approaches are associated with multiple complications; infections from a wide variety of pathogenic and opportunistic organisms being amongst the commonest and the most serious. Infections affect quality of life, delay potentially saving chemotherapy and pose a substantial burden for the health care system and remain an important cause of death. In this chapter we outline the common immune defects and associated infections frequently seen in patients with ­hematologic malignancies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infectious Diseases Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Genovefa Papanicolaou

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  1. Genovefa Papanicolaou
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  2. Jayesh Mehta
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Correspondence to Genovefa Papanicolaou .

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  1. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Infectious Diseases Department, The University of Texas, 800 5th Avenue, Apt. 12-G, New York, 10065, New York, USA

    Amar Safdar

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Papanicolaou, G., Mehta, J. (2011). Infections in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies. In: Safdar, A. (eds) Principles and Practice of Cancer Infectious Diseases. Current Clinical Oncology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-644-3_3

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