الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Lung cancer is often complicated by lung infections in 9.5% to 84% of cases because of immunosuppression, neutropenia along with changes in endogenous bacterial flora and local inflammatory reaction caused by co-existing bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Klastersky & Aoun, 2004). Fungal infections present a diagnostic challenge as their radiological presentation is sometimes indistinguishable from lung malignancy, such as lung nodules, thick-walled cavities, or masses, and the clinical presentation of these infections is nonspecific including dyspnea, fatigue, cough and sometimes hemoptysis (Guimaraes et al., 2013). Pulmonary infections in those patients can restrain the effect of oncological treatment and affect their survival (Klastersky & Aoun, 2004). Previous colonization of the respiratory tract by potentially pathogenic micro-organisms may increase the risk of post-operative infection and be a reason for lung infections in the natural course of lung cancer (Belda et al., 2005). So, identification of organisms colonizing the lower respiratory tract in patients with lung cancer may influence the choice of perioperative prophylaxis and administration of a more efficient empiric therapy for lung infections (Dancewicz et al., 2009). The aim of the current study was to investigate the association of fungal infection with lung cancer by determining the incidence and pattern of fungi isolated from bronchoscopic samples of patients with lung cancer before starting specific therapy.