Oral treatment with yolk antibodies for the prevention of C. albicans infections in chemotherapy treated children. A feasibility study

Cancer patients treated with chemotherapy often become neutropenic, which predisposes for oral and systemic C. albicans infections. The purpose of this feasibility study was to find out if gargling with anti-C. albicans immunoglobulin Y from egg yolk can prevent oral candidiasis in children, treated for acute lymphatic leukemia. Four patients gargled with the antibodies once a day during the induction phase of chemotherapy. None of four patients treated with IgY got any C. albicans infection. In the non-treated control and in a historic group, seven of thirteen patients had suspected C. albicans infection. This study indicates that anti-C. albicans IgY may prevent oral candidiasis in immunocompromized children.