Tropical diseases in cancer patients

Abstract

Currently, as the incidence and prevalence of cancer rises, it is not uncommon to find oncologic patients with tropical diseases in endemic areas. Some of these patients will require specialized care from an intensive unit care. Forty years ago, little was known about oncologic patients with tropical infections. The coexistence was rarely considered having them misdiagnosed with opportunistic infections or complications, thus rendering them to be "terminal" patients. Nowadays, the paradigm has changed. The cancer patient is highly susceptible to complications with tropical virus diseases, and a high suspicion is necessary for diagnosis and early treatment to avoid mortal complications. Therefore, it is important to consider its coexistence, and medical staff should be trained to have keen eyes for this. Intensive care units should have a special health-care team prepared and dedicated just for these patients. With the globalization, demographic changes and frequent travels, cancer patients are more susceptible to be infected by tropical diseases, especially with arboviruses whose vector is the mosquito anopheles; leading to hematologic function impairment and raising mortality rate. In this chapter we will review the etiology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical findings, diagnosis, prognosis, and management of the most relevant infection diseases: malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, Zika, and yellow fever.