Giant blastoconidia of Candida albicans. A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

We describe a patient with extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma who developed systemic candidiasis after treatment with a cyclophosphamide-based chemotherapy regimen. Histologically, the fungal organisms demonstrated markedly enlarged blastoconidia with a variety of morphologic forms, mimicking other mycotic organisms, such as Cryptococcus neoformans, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The in vivo occurrence of such giant forms is rare, and when observed histologically may result in an erroneous diagnosis or a diagnosis of multiple mycotic organisms.