Patients With Cancer Have A Higher Risk Of Developing Pneumonia: Warns Doctor

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Mumbai: – Patients with cancer tend to have a higher risk of pneumonias as the immune system gets weakened. Pneumonias cause disproportionate morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Prompt treatment can help cancer patients avoid pneumonia. Pneumonia can be termed as a lung infection that causes breathing difficulties and fluid in the lungs.

There are many viruses, bacteria, and fungi that invite pneumonia. Pneumonias are estimated to cause or complicate nearly 10% of hospital admissions among cancer patients, notably including patients with hematologic malignancies (lymphomas and leukemias) whose estimated risk of pneumonia during the course of treatment exceeds 30%

Dr Ninad Katdare, Surgical Oncologist Apollo Spectra Mumbai said, “ Cancer patients demonstrate unique susceptibility to pneumonias due to complex immune dysfunction caused by the disease and its treatment, reflecting such disparate mechanisms as neutropenia, lung architectural derangements and malnutrition.

A diagnosis of pneumonia is associated with poorer overall outcomes in cancer patients while worsened outcomes result from cancer progression when treatments are deferred in patients suspected of having pneumonia.

Dr. Katdare added, “In certain cancers like lung cancer, symptoms similar to pneumonia like cough, phlegm, breathing issues, fever, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and chest pain tend to overlap with each other. So the treating physician needs to be wary and do a thorough battery of tests to differentiate the two and also to see if both are co-existing at the same time. Lung cancer progresses slowly and does not cause symptoms until it becomes advanced, while, the pneumonia symptoms are severe and quick in onset.

Prevention of Pneumonias:

As pneumonias are associated with poorer outcomes in cancer patients, prevention is of paramount importance. Measures like hand hygiene, dental care, isolation of neutropenic patients and vaccination go a long way in preventing pneumonias. The diagnosis is done by modalities such as HRCT and PETCT. Sometimes bronchoscopy with cytology/culture and biopsy may be required to differentiate between lung cancer and pneumonias and/or if they are co-existing simultaneously.

The treatment of pneumonias is directed on one hand towards the causative organism eg. Antibiotics for bacterial infection, anti-fungal for fungal pneumonia and on the other hand towards improving the immmnity of the patient. Successful management strategies depend on a good ICU set-up, good team work, early recognition, consideration of numerous cancer-related host factors, and prompt initiation of broad-spectrum antibacterial agents and supportive agents.