Role of Candida Mannan Antibody Assay in the Diagnosis of Invasive Candidiasis (IC) in Patients with Malignant Conditions

Introduction: Mannan is a major component of the Candida albicans cell wall, composing up to 7% of the cell dry weight, and is one of the main Candida antigens that circulate during infection. It is a serum marker for the presence of Invasive Candidiasis is Candida Mannan antibody, which has been included in the relevant European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/ Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) diagnostic criteria. Aims of the study were to study the prevalence of invasive candidiasis in patients with malignant conditions and to assess the role of Candida Mannan antibody assay in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis. Material and method: A total of 88 individuals attending Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Dr. B. Barooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) with diagnosed malignancy who are at risk of developing invasive infection with Candidaspp according to Revised EORTC criteria were enrolled for the study Results: Out of the 88 study cases, 38 (43.18%) patients were found to fulfil the criteria necessary for qualifying as cases of invasive candidiasis. Hence, the prevalence rate of invasive candidiasis in the study group was calculated to be 43.18%. The sensitivity, specificity, Positive predictive value (PPV) and Negative predictive value (NPV) of Candida Mannan Antibody assay wascalculated as 60.52%, 92.0%, 85.18% and 75.41% respectively. Conclusions: The high Specificity, PPV and an at-par NPV suggest that the test may be particularly useful in excluding Invasive Candidiasis. It is thus feasible to explore the use of serial measurements of Mannan and Anti-Mannan as part of a broader diagnostic strategy for selecting patients to receive antifungal drug therapy. Key-words: Candida, EORTC, Invasive, Mannan, Malignancy How to cite this article: Arunjyoti Sarmah, Dipak Kumar Das, Ajanta Sharma, Jagannath Deb Sharma. Role of candida mannan antibody assay in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis (IC) in patients with malignant conditions. International Journal of Contemporary Medical Research 2015;2(5):1219-1223. 1Research Scientist IMedical, Department Of Microbiology, State Level VRDL, 2Associate professor, Department of Microbiology, Gauhati Medical College, 4Professor & Head, Department of Pathology, B. Barooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, 3Professor, Department of Microbiology, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, India Corresponding author: Dr. Arunjyoti Sarmah, 5th Floor, Department of Microbiology, Gauhati Medical College, Narakasur Hilltop, P.O.Indrapur, Guwahati, India. Source of Support: Nil Conflict of Interest: None