Gut bacteria may predict risk of life-threatening infections following chemotherapy
Thursday, April 28, 2016 - 13:00
in Health & Medicine
The bacteria in people’s gut may predict their risk of life-threatening blood infections following high-dose chemotherapy, new research indicates. About 20,000 cancer patients receive high-dose chemotherapy each year in preparation for bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Typically about 20 to 40 percent develop blood infections following the chemotherapy. About 15-30 percent of those patients die as a result of the infections.