The combination of tamoxifen with amphotericin B, but not with fluconazole, has synergistic activity against the majority of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cryptococcal meningitis has fatality rates of 40%-70%, resulting in 200 000 deaths each year. The best outcomes are achieved with amphotericin combined with flucytosine but flucytosine is expensive and unavailable where most disease occurs. More effective and affordable treatments are needed. Tamoxifen, a selective oestrogen receptor modulator frequently indicated for breast cancer, has been found to have synergistic activity against the Cryptococcus neoformans type strain when combined with amphotericin or fluconazole. It is cheap, off-licence, widely available and well-tolerated, and thus a pragmatic potential treatment for cryptococcal disease.

Objectives

We wanted to determine the susceptibility of clinical isolates of C. neoformans to tamoxifen alone and in c

SUBMITTER: Hai TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6771715 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature