Table 1.

Main risk factors for infection in cancer patients

Infection risk factors in oncology patients	Quick facts
Barrier injury	Disruption of skin and mucosa causing translocation of pathogens into the blood stream and sterile tissues
Chemotherapy, neutropenia, and immunosuppression	Most encountered in hematologic malignancies, specifically after bone marrow transplant
Obstruction	In solid tumors (carcinomas and sarcomas) frequently causing genitourinary and hepatobiliary infections
Vascular occlusion	Vascular invasion by solid tumors or bland thrombus due to hypercoagulable states namely in pancreatic and ovarian cancer
Radiation-induced damage	Causes inflammation, skin and mucosa barrier injury, small vessel sclerosis, fibrosis, and fistula formation
Medical device infection	Prime example is blood stream infections of vascular catheters caused by skin colonizers
Surgery	Can be major infections with high morbidity such as anastomotic bowel leaks, or minor infections such as surgical wound and urinary tract infections