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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2019; 40(S 01): S61-S64
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_247_17
Original Article

Oral Microflora among Oral Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy in Regional Cancer Center, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla

Vikas Fotedar
Department of Radiation Oncology, Regional Cancer Center, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
Suniti Ganju
Department of Microbiology, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
Shailee Fotedar
Department of Public Health Dentistry, H. P. Government Dental College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
Purnima Thakur
Department of Radiation Oncology, Regional Cancer Center, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
Aman Sharma
Department of Radiation Oncology, Regional Cancer Center, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
Vinay Bhardwaj
Department of Public Health Dentistry, H. P. Government Dental College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the microflora, especially Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and Candida species, in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma during various stages from diagnosis through radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 17 cases with histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were enrolled in the study. For each patient, the sample was collected thrice, i.e., at the time of diagnosis (Sample 1), 14th–15th day (Sample 2), and on the 29th–30th day of radiotherapy (Sample 3). The swab stick was rolled across the oral mucosa in the cases and was sent immediately to the Department of Microbiology, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, for processing. The swabs were inoculated on MacConkey agar, blood agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar. After overnight incubation at 37°C, the organisms were identified by colony characteristics, catalase, coagulase test, Gram staining, and standard biochemical tests. Results: Out of 17, there was a loss to follow up in three patients, so after analyzing on 14 patients, we had 12 (85.7%) males and 2 (14.3%) females. The mean age of the population was 47.6% ± 12.2%. We had significantly higher proportion of Gram-positive microorganisms in Sample 1 as compared to Sample 3 and the same proportion of Gram-negative organisms in Sample 1 and Sample 3. Candida species was also proportionately higher in Sample 3 as compared to Sample 1. Conclusion: There is a shift of oral microflora from Gram-positive to Candida species from Sample 1 to Sample 3 and Gram-negative being same in Sample 1 and Sample 3.

Keywords

Candida - Oral cancer - radiotherapy and oral microflora


Publication History

Article published online:
24 May 2021

© 2019. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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