Table 3.

Infection-related clinical syndromes commonly seen in patients with solid tumors

Clinical syndrome	Comments
Post-obstructive pneumonia	Frequent in patients with primary or metastatic lung lesions. Sometimes the initial manifestation of malignancy. Complications include lung abscess, fistula formation, or empyema. Treatment failures common
Obstructive uropathy	Common in patients with genitourinary and prostatic tumors. Complicated urinary tract infections and multidrug-resistant organisms are frequent
Reactivation of viral infections	Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus, usually following chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy. Screening for all patients scheduled to receive chemotherapy is recommended as is HBV prophylaxis for patients with HBV infection
Clostridium difficile associated disease	Multiple risk factors (antibiotics, chemotherapy, local anatomical factors). Recurrent infections/relapses common. Newer therapies (fidaxomicin, fecal microbiota transplantation) have been developed
Neutropenic enterocolitis	Associated with taxanes (docetaxel and paclitaxel), vinorelbine, and other agents producing severe mucositis